Smoking is hazardous to human health and continues to be devastating to a patient’s physical health as well as to the entirety of the health care system. Smoking is both a public and personal health concern. The overall prevalence of tobacco dependence has decreased since smoking became a known health hazard, but it remains high in the general population as well as for the patients utilizing primary care in Rutland, Vermont. Nurse practitioners are holistic practitioners and are well suited to assist patients to change unhealthy behaviors. Behavior change, especially smoking cessation, is particularly difficult for patients. Motivational interviewing is an evidenced based method that has been extensively investigated to assist patients to overcome their tobacco addiction. This paper includes description of a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Project, health intervention, utilizing a motivational interviewing method to assist tobacco dependent patients in primary care. This project was based on the Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change and principles of motivational interviewing utilized to assist patients to progress along the stages of change towards cessation. Data was collected to provide programmatic evaluation and an understanding of barriers associated with assisting tobacco dependent patients in primary care. This paper provides a review of recent literature about motivational interviewing for smoking cessation, a detailed description of the DNP project implementation, data collected during the implementation, analysis and implications of the data collected, as well as a plan for project sustainment.