First Quitlines in UK and USA were started in 1988 and 1992, respectively. After that the number of call service and its coverage continuously increased in Europe and North America. Finally, they made ‘European Network of Quitline’ and ‘North American Quitline Consortium’ for the purpose of sharing knowledge and experience on cessation service on telephone. These Network and consortium have contributed to realization of quality assurance as well as increasing effectiveness and accessibility of the service through the dissemination of evidence based program and continuous evaluation all aspects of the service.

Recently, in Asian Pacific countries, Quitline service has been considered as applicable services for smoking cessation and some countries have launched their own services with or without governmental support. Also, a few countries including India are under the pilot project for Quitline service. However there are not any group to support Quitline in Asian Pacific Region with expertise and practical experience. Either, there are not any fields to share their own knowledge, technique, and experience on Quitline operation. In this context, the Asian Pacific Quitline Network was launched to share knowledge, best practice, and experience on Quitline operation in 2008.