how can i stop my dad from smoking?

Question

Well, my dad has been smoking for 30 years now, and I'm really worried that he might have lung cancer. but HOW HARD i TRY to tell him he just don't want to quit
my sister died 3 years ago and I think that it even make him smoke more than usual.
he smoke at least 10 cigratetes a day
how can I help my dad quit??

I tried alot ofthings to make my dad quit smoking
but it doesn'twork
I was thinking of just ignore him and not talk to him for a few days
but I'm not sure ifit a good thing to do

my dad is 45

Answer 1

You can't...it's something he'll have to tackle when he's ready.

You have no right to throw away his cigarettes or preach to him like you're holier than thou.

I don't mean to sound abrasive, but that's how he'll, or any smoker, would take your gestures.

He's physically, and maybe even psychologically dependent upon them, and the cigarette companies are making sure they are even more addictive to keep what smoker base they still have.

I'm very glad you are not a smoker, but again, you can support him if he makes the decision, but to harp on it to him will only fall on deaf ears.

Answer 2

I'm sorry, but there is absolutely nothing you can do. The more you say something the more he will keep smoking. My dad has been smoking since he was 15 and he is 58 now. He can't even walk from the door to the back of his house without coughing, getting short of breath, and having to stop to catch his breath. He has been in the ICU 2 or 3 times, coded about 5 times. Nothing has made a difference. It is totally up to the person.

I've had patients that have been on life support and massive lung damage and once they were off the ventilators they started smoking again. Many of them by this point don't stop.

It is sad and painful for us. My heart goes out to you.

Answer 3

You simply cant'! There are no words or remedies you can give him. It is something he will have to do himself. If he thinks he has cancer he might continue "cause why not" right?
If you throw them away he will get more, if you pressure him he will sneak around. Although 10 is not that much. He will more than likely become depressed and rely on the cigarettes. If you don't talk to him how will that make you feel? It will only hurt him with no results of quitting so it's a waste of precious time and In a few days you will only give in so what is the point? It is hard to watch a loved one self destruct, but what can you do?????
I have a similar problem with my mother. She has congestive heart failure. The doc told her point blank "you are going to die if you don't quit smoking" but she still smokes 2 packs a day. She just lies to him. It is hopeless I have just accepted that I can't fix it!

I have thought and thought about it, and decided that if I had a grave illness I would smoke to. Might as well do what I like if there is no hope.

Answer 4

If you put a gerbil in a cage for 2 monthes, he is fed and all, just never removed from the cage, and you open the door, and he runs to the door, and you push him away, won't that just make him even more determined to leave the cage?

If you have a cat inside for 2 years, fed and loved, and you open your door, and he runs to it, and he gets out, but you put him back inside, won't that make the cat more determined to run out the door the next time it is opened?

If your dad has been smoking for 30 years, and he may have lung cancer, and his daughter died, and he smokes more, and he is being pushed away from a habit he has had for a very long time, won't that make him more determined to smoke?

What I am implying, is that it is your father's decision. The more you try to make him quit, the more he is going to want to smoke. If he thinks about a cigarette, and thinks of quitting, he will be more provoked to smoke than ever, and he will eventually get a pack or two when you have your head turned, thinking he has quit the habit.

I hope this helped.

Answer 5

Unfortunately, unless your dad wants to quit, you can't make him. He has been smoking a long time and is addicted. Have you talked to him about your concerns? The only thing you can really do is tell him how you feel and maybe let him know that there are many products out there that can help. Champix is a new pill that blocks nicotine receptors in the brain, taking the enjoyment out of cigarettes. There's also the nicotine patch, zyban and gum. If he commits to quitting, tell him the two of you can take a class together or find a hobby together. Be patient, quitting smoking is a lifelong battle. there's also a smoker's helpline - you can google it. Good luck.

Answer 6

My dad has smoked for 40 + yrs and is having great results with a new drug called Chantix. He has tried many times to quit in the past and had no luck. So far he has drastically reduced the amount he smokes per day and it seems that he doesn't even notice how well he's doing! You may talk to your dad and see if he is willing to try to quit because drugs alone will not cause you to stop- it really works best with some sort of therapy.

Answer 7

I'm a little bit older then your dad and smoked for 35 years---much more then 10 cigarettes a day.. more like 2 PACKS towards the end last year when I quit COLD TURKEY.... I had a bit of incentive however to quit... it wasn't easy but I DID it and it's been 1 year and 3 days since the day I quit.. you can show your dad this if you'd like and MAYBE it will give HIM the incentive before it's too late like it is for me. Yep, I have two---not one but TWO terminal smoking related illnesses ... was in 2 separate hospitals for 2 weeks exactly 1 year and 3 days ago fighting for my life ... from Congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension... ok they aren't CAUSED by smoking, but they certainly were not HELPED by 35 years of huffing and puffing cigarette smoke.... So, when the doctors told me I had between 2 MONTHS and 4 YEARS to live, I figured if I quit smoking that MAYBE it would extend my chances of living at LEAST for the 4 years....... I decided I would need a CRUTCH to quit and knowing that most people gain weight when they are quitting, I decided to try ORANGES... the big NAVAL oranges... so whenever I wanted a cigarette, I would reach for a big naval orange, peel it, separate the pieces and eat it one piece at a time. The motion of doing all that was SIMILAR to the motions one goes through to smoke a cigarette and it takes about the same amount of time to EAT an orange like that as it does to smoke---So, my brain was conned into doing something ELSE with my hands and mouth as I substituted the oranges for the cigarettes... At first I was eating up to 12 oranges a day and gradually I lowered the amount to now I only eat them every so often.... In the car I would peel a couple of oranges and pull the pieces apart and put them in ziploc baggies and eat them in the car when I craved a cigarette... it worked... I quit, I have NO MORE CRAVINGS and I gained not ONE OUNCE over the entire year since I quit.. Your dad SHOULD quit and I certainly hope he doesn't wait too long like I did... the hardest thing in the world for a person to hear is when the doctor comes into your hospital room and tells you that you MAY not even make it out of the hospital... I was lucky to have escaped death then but my illness is like a time bomb inside me... I could go tonight or next week or next month or next year or 3 years from now... the disease progressively gets work and I have been told it's a painful way to die....I'm NOT looking forward to it and I SINCERELY hope that your DAD can quit so HE doesn't have to look forward to this kind of news for himself..... Good luck trying to get him to quit... it's WELL WORTH THE EFFORT!!! A life is a terrible thing to waste

Answer 8

Get some literature and have a mature conversation with him about the dangers of smoking. Offer to make him a doctor's appointment. Tell him there are new medications that help you to stop. Offer to go with him to smoking cessation classes. Then ultimately he will have to decide what he wants to do. It will be his decision. If the government keeps passing smoking laws, he may eventually have no place to smoke anyway. It is not your responsibility. It is his. You can only do so much. As long as you have done what you feel is the best you can do, you will just have to leave it up to him.

Answer 9

There is really nothing you can do to make him quit. I know first hand, my father did die from lung cancer and it wasn't a pretty site. I think that has to be the worst way to die.

The only real thing you have at your disposal is guilt. Tell him that you want him to be around to see his grand children someday. Ask him if he loves you. When he says yes, tell him that you don't show it very well trying to die from cigarette smoking. OH... hang up pictures of a cancerous lung where ever it is he keeps his cigs

Hope it helps

Answer 10

Hmm.. difficult question. I don't know how old your dad is.
I'm 40. I'm a smoker. I'm seriously thinking about it. My mum (ex smoker) had a mastectomy due to breast cancer, My dad has breathing difficulties (also an ex smoker).
10 a day is not a huge amount. Not good, but we are all human.
The only way to make your dad give up is for making him WANT to give up. You may think that every word u say is ignored. Not true! All those words hide at the back of his mind. He just has to turn that corner. I can see that corner..

Answer 11

it depends on how sensitive he is to it...it can be rather personal to them..

but i did this as a missionary...i took a cig or 2 and opened them and poured the contents into a cup of water...as you can imagine it turned black..and i told him that this is just ONE or two CIGS...imagine 30 years worth and think of what that would do to your lungs....

ask him what would happen if he drank that (he'd get violently ill so don't let him) but that is the answer you are looking for and you ask him...i know you are very sad about losing ____(sister's name)..how do you think I will feel losing her AND you? because that is the only way this will end if you DON'T stop. I am asking you to stop BECAUSE I love you..NOT to keep you from what you want. But to free you from this so you can do what you love to do for the rest of your life!

they can pray for help to stop the desire and that can also help as well as patches or nicotine gum..you can go cold turkey but there will be consequences and withdrawal symptoms to that..so be careful and be helpful to him...

my grandfather used toothpicks to wean himself off..he smoked MUCH more than your father does..he also died due to smoking...he had 1/3 of 2 lungs when he died.