A lot can be done by friends and family members if they want their loved ones to stop smoking. By doing that you not only help your loved ones get rid of a bad habit but also ensure a smoke-free environment for everyone. When a spouse, partner or friend is smoking, then both the partners as well as people around are to suffer the consequences. We all know that people who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke face almost twice the risk of a heart attack as people who live in a smoke-free environment.

Here we will talk about helping our loved ones in quitting smoke. There are a lot many ways following which we can help our near and dear ones when they are on a smoking cessation plan. Here are a few examples:

Talk honestly and frankly about your concerns

Let him know that you have noticed while he coughs and that he is short of breath. Start your sentence with something like, “I’m really worried because you’re …” Do not blame cigarette straight away. Just let him know that the harms caused by smoking are obvious on him.

Be Compassionate

Because quitting smoke is very difficult. One who never smoked and never had to quit, can not imagine a smoker’s condition when he is trying to quit. Mind you, this is an addiction, nicotine addiction, not less serious than drug addiction.

Encourage him to create a list of reasons to quit

A list of reasons to quit smoking is very motivating at the time when someone wants to quit smoking especially because of health reasons. In that list include those reasons which involve you as a spouse and also involve the family benefits. As for example, one of the reasons may be a longer life for both of you, a good influence on children and concrete reasons like lower healthcare costs. Go to Passive Smoking Effects to know elaborately about the effects of second-hand smoke.

Help him pick a stop date

Picking up a strategically correct stop date ensures a right initiation of smoking cessation. Help him choose one date, at a time when he is not in stress. The day may be his birthday, or Christmas, or your anniversary. The day can be any special day, which holds importance in your lives.

Let him decide how you can help

The smoker can decide how he would like you to help him. He may like you to be ready with alternatives when nicotine craving strikes. This way you lessen the possibility of irritating him by making him conscious of the loss of a close companion, nicotine.
Enlist others

You can include friends and relatives to add force to your efforts in helping him. It has been found that smokers who hear the messages related to quitting smoke from more than one person are more likely to listen.

Acquire information

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There are a lot of products and programs available for the smoker that can help him quit smoke. You can congregate information from a doctor or pharmacist about anti-smoking products like Chantix and quit smoking programs to help lessen the physical cravings.

Remember

Putting in so much effort and following all these suggestions still may not ensure that the smoker will quit smoking. Please do not feel discouraged and keep your efforts on even if he fails to quit this time. You should know that cigarettes are so addictive that most smokers try no less than 5-7 times before they finally quit. What should be your action in the meantime? Just compel him to agree on a number of cigarettes he will smoke everyday and limit his smoking.