Helping Someone Quit Smoking?


Question:
Before I begin, please answer seriously- no 'stupid' answers. I have a 'friend' who has been smoking for some time now- I'm guessing since she was 17 or 18. She is now 49. She only quit when she got pregnant, but then she started back up. Nothing that I can say makes an impact. She is a grandmother, and she couldn't even quit for her grandchildren. She's in deep, and I don't know how to help her. I don't want to see her die so young with so much life to live. She means a lot to me. How can I help her quit smoking? More like how can I convince her to quit smoking? I've tried bribary(sp?), etc. She knows the consequences of smoking. But she won't stop. I know that it's very hard, but why kill yourself before you can see your grandchildren grow up? Why set that example for them?

P.S. To smokers or other people who may answer with such things as "keep out of her business, etc.," at least I care enough about her to intervene.

Answers:
it takes 21 days to stop a habit (learned this from school). you can't do abrupt withdrawal from a habit if you've been into it for so long.

to do's:
1st: you should convince, encourage her to at least minimize the smoking. you can never make a person stop a habit if she herself doesn't want to. give some encouragement, share good things.

2nd: if she agrees, start up the process. slowly cut down the smoking. and i mean SLOWLY, to avoid withdrawal symptoms(e.g from 10 sticks perday make it less, turn it to half of the usual consumption--daily basis), until she reaches the time when she can survive a day without smoking.

3rd: if she has the urges of smoking, encourage her to substitute cigarette with hard candy. just to put something in her mouth.

4th: the 21 days of counting starts when the person adjusts on not having a cigarette in a day. if she survives it, encourage her to cut off the habit for 21 days, finally, if this succeeds, u might be be able to change a life.
I understand that you care But the only thing I can tell you is keep talking to her keep telling her your concerns because she won't quit unless she want's to.
Sadly, you are limited in how much you are able to help your friend. All you can do is let her know how you feel and be there to support her if she makes a decision to quit. Perhaps you can help influence her decision, but it needs to be her decision.
well,all I can say is good luck,,,my granddaughter has tried to stop her mom from smoking for a while now...smoking is an addiction to the nicotine,,,and you might show her pamphlets,put her on the mailing list of American cancer association...they have a website...you could show her what is actually in some of those cigarettes,,poisons,,etc...
The Dr.showed my dad a picture of his lung xrays and they were black,the Dr. said it looked like he worked in a coal mine.
You can encourage her to seek help from Dr.he will give her a prescription..she also needs to be checked out for arteries may be clogged from smoking...just encourage her to want to see her children,and grandchildren grow up...Let someone who has emphysema and is on oxygen 24/7 talk to her,or someone with cancer of the lip or lung...not a pretty sight. tell her it's like kissing an ashtray(lol) good luck..and stay brave.
Sorry, but it really is only her business. I smoked for ten years, and everybody gave me every reason to quit, but I ignored them. Then I finally decided one morning that this was the day, the last day, this is it, no more. I smoked my last cigarette the night before and haven't had one for five years now. I don't miss it, I don't crave them, and I'm glad I don't stink anymore. The only one who can get her to quit is her. You can't "help" her, she has to do it on her own.

The only thing you can't protect people from is themselves.
yeah its really hard to help someone stop smoking.

there's other things that might be stressing her out, maybe you should get rid of her cigarettes. telling someone a bunch of times will not help them stop, because they feel there's a lot of pressure from everyone who says that smoking is bad, and they have heard that before, so they think smoking will "heal" that problem. maybe you should show her what is happening and her kids can tell her too then she might just might listen to them!
you could cut off her hands so she couldn't hold a cigarette. That or threaten to put her @ss in a old folks home as soon as you get a chance.

on the other hand, she might out live you...
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