need dad to quit smoking

[coolguy147]

im not sure how long my dad has been smoking but i know he does. he finally admitted it just recently. i have never seen him smoke before. i sometimes smell it on him but only sometimes so i guess that is a good thing.

any ideas? i was thinking of printing out a list of the bad things and then good things if he quits. he doesnt do it often i know so there is a positive side to this.

 

[xxxflhrci]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

He won't quit unless he wants to.

My parents both smoke 30+ years. My mom wanted to quit and couldn't by herself. She got hypnotized....at a hospital, not by some gypsy in a circus tent. and quit that day. My dad tried it and never skipped a cigarette....The major difference was my mom really wanted to quit and my dad did not.

 

[nlain]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

As a person who has quit smoking, you do not quit until you really want to. I quit in the spring of 2003, I had smoked since I was a teenager, 50 something when I finally quit for good. I still want one on rare occasion to this day, oh and by the way, they stink when I am around smokers, I now know how I used to smell. If he only smokes on rare occasions it will be easier for him to quit, it is not easy to quit, I know. All you can do it talk to him and offer support and hope he really wants to quit. I don't mean to sound hard here, but that is the facts. Good luck.

 

[Tyme2fish]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

Nagging, either from a spouse or children will not work. Approach him in a loving and caring way.

"Dad, I love you and want you in my life for as long as possible. If you can't stop smoking for yourself, would you try it for my behalf?"

I quit smoking cigarettes after smoking them for about 45 years. I now smoke a cigar occasionally and still my younger son is on my case. Pisses me off. But at least I know he cares.

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

Get him the patch for a gift and see if that will help.

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

Ditto. You can only quit if you want to quit. As a former smoker, quitting was one of the hardest things to do. I just woke up one morning and said ''no more''. Not because it's bad for me, because I really enjoyed smoking, but it was the cost of cigarettes for me. At the time, here in Canada, they were around 7 dollars a pack. Nagging someone to quit will only cause needless aggravation. If your close to your father, perhaps telling him that your worried about him and suggest maybe that he think about quitting. Then drop it. Good luck. Don't lose too much sleep over this.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

My father smoked and my mother hated it. She told him so, often, and made no bones about it. I guess some one call it nagging. It didn't make him quit. He finally quit shortly before the birth of my first daughter. He died the following year from cancer. He never met my second daughter. We miss him. Hopefully your father will find a reason to quit before it's too late.

 

[blksmith19]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

I quit 4 years ago, and like the others have said, a person will only quit if they really want to.
I tried various stop smoking aids but the only one that worked for me was Chantix, it's a pill that you need a prescription for, it worked great for me and I still do not crave cigarettes at all.

blksmith19

 

[JB]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

I stopped (maybe someday I will say I quit) smoking last March after about 60 years of light (less than a pack a day) smoking.

Prior to that I got megahassles from all directions but I didn't want to stop. I liked smoking.

My incentive that made me want to stop was when Texas added another $1.00 tax to every pack. That nearly doubled the price of my little cigars.

For the last ten years or so I smoked miniature cigars. . .5 or 6 a day, and I lit and put them out two or three times so my nicotine dose was quite small.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

it is something he has to want. i quit for 15 months years ago. i do not see quiting again, in my future, I have thought about trying Chantix, but the side effects are scary. Sylvia, is a social worker, she has had 2 clients commit suicide after taking Chantix, and knows of several other that have.

 

[eaglejim]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

Like others have said, he has got to want too.My Dad used to smoke also (not a lot) we use to have foot races you know about a half block long I don't remember how old I was but I finally beat him in a foot race and he said something about how fast I was and in a laughing way said "well I don't smoke" and I never saw him light up again,now I can't say that made a difference but that is the way he quit.

 

[Tyme2fish]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

it is something he has to want. i quit for 15 months years ago. i do not see quiting again, in my future, I have thought about trying Chantix, but the side effects are scary. Sylvia, is a social worker, she has had 2 clients commit suicide after taking Chantix, and knows of several other that have.

The cure or the curse? As a quitired Pharmacist I took Chantix and that was the "magic" pill that allowed me to quit smoking. I think I had suicidal thoughts to begin with but Chantix did bring those thoughts to the forefront.

It is my personal opinion that smokers have a "weak" will. Taking Chantix and having a weak will may cause that unwanted side affect of, gulp, suicide.

I am not trying to make light of the problems with Chantix. I loved my family and hated smoking. Chantix allowed me to quit smoking and my love of family overcame any suicidal thoughts I had.

Chantix is not any sort of magic but for a smoker of 40 plus years, it worked for me.

And you'll love the vivid dreams!! In color and wild beyond what your conscience can conceive. Worth the ride.

 

[i386]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

He won't quit unless he wants to.

This

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

The cure or the curse? As a quitired Pharmacist I took Chantix and that was the "magic" pill that allowed me to quit smoking. I think I had suicidal thoughts to begin with but Chantix did bring those thoughts to the forefront.

It is my personal opinion that smokers have a "weak" will. Taking Chantix and having a weak will may cause that unwanted side affect of, gulp, suicide.

I am not trying to make light of the problems with Chantix. I loved my family and hated smoking. Chantix allowed me to quit smoking and my love of family overcame any suicidal thoughts I had.

Chantix is not any sort of magic but for a smoker of 40 plus years, it worked for me.

And you'll love the vivid dreams!! In color and wild beyond what your conscience can conceive. Worth the ride.

Agreed, but with slight diffs...35 yrs smoking, and I hate my family and love smoking{joking on the hate bit...relax}. I'm taking Chantix currently{3 months now}, and the bad thoughts do creep in{with the state of the economy etc...it's half expected } but they're not overwhelming or so provoking to make one write out a list of ways. If you currently suffer depression to the point of contemplating the 'unthinkable' then that is something to discuss with your doctor beforehand. Heck, a few too many beers in a sad/sour mood can write that book as easily.

Bottom line has been mentioned above....you'll only quit if you want to, the 'magic' pill's seem to help keep the 'going postal'{no offense intended} effect under control, but it still takes wanton desire to quit, from with-in.

As to the op's desires....keep after him, but with understanding not nagging.

 

[JustJason]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

If your dad smokes winstons or winton lights.... steal all his packs and mail them to me

 

[rainman99]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

I quit because of cigarette prices last May after 30 years of smoking. I used nicotine mints for 3 months. The first 3 months were hard. Now I can't even stand the smell.
Coolguy147 : I agree with everyone else he will only quit if he wants to. And who knows if he is a very lite or social smoker he may not think he needs to quit. Heck my wife use to smoke when she drank beer maybe twice a month.(No big deal) Good Luck. And were here for advice.

 

[gstanton]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

Well.... the reason I quit was having to tell the doctor to disconnect my dad from the "tubes". He simply went in for a test to see how much worse his emphysyma was, and something dislodged and put him in a fatal coma. I quit 2 weeks after the funeral.

You could have a talk with him about at what point he wants you to disconnect him. Put it in writing for greater impact.

That is a talk I never got to have. What a gut wrenching decision to have to make!

 

[mphy98]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

I agree that he will not quit until he wants to. I started smoking when I was 14 and quit when I was 26. I finally took a look at what it was costing back then .55 a pack and said to myself "this is stupid. Its $200.00 a year I am just throwing away.) I have never looked back. Now some people really enjoy smoking. My mother in law started when she was pregnant with my wife. The Doctor told her to start smoking to calm her nerves. Can you imagine that? A doctor telling someone to start smoking. That was a long time ago though. She "quit" years ago, but every now and then she takes one on.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

Has to want to. Our children told me that they wanted me around for "the long term" not touched one since.
They also give me a big hug once in a while and thank me for quitting.
Always brings a tear to my eye.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: need dad to quit smoking

Couple of good health scares can help. My FIL smoked at least a pack a day from his teens to fifties. Then he had a heart attack. That got him to quit for three years give or take. Ten years after that, a triple bypass finally got the message through and he's been off them for the last ten years. His most recent health scare - kidney cancer (which, thankfully, the docs think they got all of) is said to be a common result of smoking and I think was a good reminder to stay on the wagon.

Sadly - be it smoking, drinking, drugs, or whatever, even having a loved one ask you to stop often has no effect except to anger everyone involved.

My wife talks about family drives as a kid and how her parents both used to smoke in the car and wouldn't let her or her sisters put the windows down becuase of the air con. Can you believe it? These days they've admitted to being utterly ashamed of that treatment. When I think of the second hand smoke she's inhaled in the twenty years she lived under their roof I worry a lot for her future health even though she's never been a smoker herself. Might as well have been.

I believe it's now illegal to smoke in a car in Ontario while there are kids present.