In this paper, we develop a fractional-order smoking model by considering relapse class. First, we formulate the model and find the unique positive solution for the proposed model. Then we apply the Grünwald–Letnikov approximation in the place of maintaining a general quadrature formula approach to the Riemann–Liouville integral definition of the fractional derivative. Building on this foundation avoids the need for domain transformations, contour integration or involved theory to compute accurate approximate solutions of fractional-order giving up smoking model. A comparative study between Grünwald–Letnikov method and Runge–Kutta method is presented in the case of integer-order derivative. Finally, we present the obtained results graphically.