NT: I need to get my mother to quit smoking, before she gets got. HELP? Let's get YOU to quit too.

[troymcclure]

I was over at the house this morning, talking to my mother and she bursts out in a terrible cough fit.
She has been coughing in the mornings, and throughout the day for as long as I can remember. The cough I heard today was especially bad.

I'll look at her like "Mom, C'mon, 

" and she will always rationalize it with some BS like "Oh, I've got a cold" or "I was drinking something and it went down the wrong way"

and then I say ... "Oh, so it's not the years and years and years of smoking?"

Sometimes she gets offensive and says "She is going to die anyway"

and when she said that today I said told her that I don't want to hear that and I don't want to see it happen like that.

That I want to have children in a few years and I don't want you to only be with your Grandchildren for 4 or 5 years and that she and her health are important to me.

After that she was dead silent and I felt like I finally broke through a little.

I understand that it is a HUGE lifestyle switch and she has to have the will to want to quit. It's to the point where I can see it physically taking a big toll, and she's already screwed because of it.

But I know she can take measures to extend and improve her life, and I really want her to, because I can see this worsening.

Former smokers - how did you do it? How much different is life, how do you feel? I need things to tell her.

Current smokers - C'mon now 

 

[hymen man]

Sucks man, I've tried to quit many times.. even got on e-cigs/patches but always went back. It's tough on the health and the wallet. I'm fasting for Ramadan this year soooo.. hopefully that'll at least cut my intake down.

Good luck to your mom, you're a good son looking out for her well-being.

 

[thegoldenchild]

only way for you to stop smoking, is if you really want to. if you dont or if you want to kind of quit.. it's not gonna work.. my fiancee's mom also smokes, why?? for the hell of it, gives her something to do.. she's taking chantix, which is supposed to make the urge of smoking go down. and now she smokes half a pack a day, what used to be a pack a day.. but it;s not getting better.. and to keep telling them is not working either.. it falls on deaf ears. unless people wanna stop themselves or they are forced to, then they won't. smokers are weak people, cause they dont have the will power to quit cold turkey. there are a few, but not many

 

[sundoobie]

You can't make/force/convince/persuade anyone from smoking. It's up to the individual to quit. Usually even then they lack the will power

 

[macbk]

I think what you need to do is straight up be blunt (no pun intended) with her. Tell her at any moment she can have a stroke, heart attack, be diagnosed with lung cancer, mouth cancer, etc.

My father smoked for a very long time, and suffered a stroke in July of 2010 and is now paralyzed and has his speech all slurred. You don't know how hard it is to see someone suffer from smoking until it's someone you know and love.

My mother and I always told him to quit, and he tried, but went right back at all. In fact, he quit cold turkey four days before the stroke

, all of the clots built up and decided it was time to burst.

Real talk, tell her like it is. QUIT WHILE SHE CAN AND GO SEE HER DOCTOR TO BETTER HER HEALTH FOR THE NOW, AND THE FUTURE.

 

[troymcclure]

Sup Hymen? Thanks dawg.
I see you say the word "hopefully"...but why do you hope for something YOU have complete control over?

I come from a family of addictive behavior. I'll admit, I smoke pot, I'd love to smoke it everyday..but for many reasons I can't and I don't.

I always try to step outside of myself, outside of my conditioning, and realistically think about the situation at hand.

Don't render yourself powerless to it. Take control of it and all the facets of life you can. It is your life, isn't it? Don't let a chemical own it, or a thought control you.

 

[mo matik]

E-cigs have helped a lot of people quit. Invest in a good e-cig that she can use to slowly wean herself off that nicotine at her own pace.

 

[Case]

I quit about 9 months ago and it was very rough for the first two weeks..I just went cold turkey..It's worked for me but the downside is you gain weight..My parents, who both smoked for 40+ yrs., both quit in the past couple years..Mom used a prescription "puffer", which is basically like a mini plastic cigar with a nicotine cartridge in it and you puff it as much as you want..But each month your script gets less and less until you've weaned yourself off of nicotine..Took her about 5 months to get to zero cartriges..My dad used Chantix(sp?)..Which is a pill that lets you smoke as much as you want the first week and then you pick a day to stop smoking and then you just quit and the pills help fight the cravings in your brain..It's kinda expensive, but still less than cigs..Took him 3 months to quit and it's by prescription only..I couldn't do either because my insurance wouldn't cover either script and I couldn't afford the lump sum payment for the meds..So after 19 years of smoking I just got tired of my son having to be around me when I smoked and the guilt just basically made me say "it's time to stop"..So I went to bed one night knowing I had only a couple cigs left and woke up the next day with the intentions of quitting..Smoked my couple smokes the first 2 hours I was up and haven't had one since..My wife still smokes and it doesn't bother me one bit..I can be around other smokers and not get the urge anymore so I think I've completely kicked the habit..Good luck to your mom..I hope she can find an option that works for her..

 

[richiecotite]

Originally Posted by casekicks

I quit about 9 months ago and it was very rough for the first two weeks..I just went cold turkey..It's worked for me but the downside is you gain weight..My parents, who both smoked for 40+ yrs., both quit in the past couple years..Mom used a prescription "puffer", which is basically like a mini plastic cigar with a nicotine cartridge in it and you puff it as much as you want..But each month your script gets less and less until you've weaned yourself off of nicotine..Took her about 5 months to get to zero cartriges..My dad used Chantix(sp?)..Which is a pill that lets you smoke as much as you want the first week and then you pick a day to stop smoking and then you just quit and the pills help fight the cravings in your brain..It's kinda expensive, but still less than cigs..Took him 3 months to quit and it's by prescription only..I couldn't do either because my insurance wouldn't cover either script and I couldn't afford the lump sum payment for the meds..So after 19 years of smoking I just got tired of my son having to be around me when I smoked and the guilt just basically made me say "it's time to stop"..So I went to bed one night knowing I had only a couple cigs left and woke up the next day with the intentions of quitting..Smoked my couple smokes the first 2 hours I was up and haven't had one since..My wife still smokes and it doesn't bother me one bit..I can be around other smokers and not get the urge anymore so I think I've completely kicked the habit..Good luck to your mom..I hope she can find an option that works for her..

major props for that. I'm trying to cut back significantly; usually i'll smoke about 7-8 per day; right now iv'e smoked 2 today. Sad to say, but i still enjoy smoking. Tonight I'm going to happy hour with co workers, that should be a pretty big test (cause in my mind, when you drink you smoke

) 

 

[potus2028]

Originally Posted by Mo Matik

E-cigs have helped a lot of people quit. Invest in a good e-cig that she can use to slowly wean herself off that nicotine at her own pace.

I'm on the Blu...I really only ever smoked cigs to boost up other things, but I tried a Blu disposable back in Feb before the kid dropped...haven't even wanted a real cig since. Hell, they even smell weird to me now. Maybe your mom should consider this, it's all the effect of smoking with none of the...um, smoke.

 

[odog24]

tell her u wont talk to her unless she quits.

maybe itll work

 

[let me post]

ive never been a smoker of any kind although I know that Nicotone addiction is a femaledog to get over. arent there new treatments (for lack of a better word) in the works for nicotine addiction? i feel like i read an article recently about a weekly administered shot that one can take that provides a small amount of nicotine into the bloodstream to allow one to slowly ween themselves off of cigs. i might be grasping at straws here but im gonna go look for the article

 

[airthompson]

Tell her how important it would be to you if she stopped. Hearing something like that from your child will give any caring parent the will power to stop.

 

[mojodmonky1]

Originally Posted by potus2028

Originally Posted by Mo Matik

E-cigs have helped a lot of people quit. Invest in a good e-cig that she can use to slowly wean herself off that nicotine at her own pace.

I'm on the Blu...I really only ever smoked cigs to boost up other things, but I tried a Blu disposable back in Feb before the kid dropped...haven't even wanted a real cig since. Hell, they even smell weird to me now. Maybe your mom should consider this, it's all the effect of smoking with none of the...um, smoke.

just wanted to +1 this.
i would highly highly recommend the e-cig route.  atleast she can get her nicotine fix and start to wean off it without dealing with all the other carcinogins from the smoke itself.

 

[ironchef]

damn the anti tobacco lobby has done a good job molding the younger generation's minds

 

[gottabeem21]

i didn't smoke cigarettes regularly for much longer than a few years, but i quit by chewing gum and tea tree toothpicks.

they help with the oral fixation and are good for oral health in general, plus they're super minty.

 

[shogun]

People are only going to quit if they really want to or have a health scare.
My dad has been smoking for 40 years, I don't see him ever quitting.

I quit smoking when I was in college and did not find it difficult at all.

 

[yeah]

I used to smoke cigs very frequently, but I was young when I started and young when I quit so I guess I'm kind of different in that regard? Started when I was 13, and after 5 years after realizing the adverse health effects I began trying to stop. At my peak I was smoking around 1/2 a pack a day reguarly. After I decided that I didn't want to anymore, I got down to about 4 or 5 a day. I stayed like that for a while, convincing myself that just slowing the frequency down would be healthy enough.

Then my little brother and I randomly were talking and he brought up smoking because he found out his mom (my step mother) smokes. I can't remember what he said verbatim, but it was something to the effect of "Please don't ever smoke cigarettes. They smell bad and I wouldn't want to hang out with you if you did." I don't know why, but the thought of never hanging out with my brother(s) again really struck home, and since that day I haven't had a single puff of cigarette tobacco.

I guess just be persistent man. Ask about her. How she's feeling. How her cough is. If she's been smoking cigarettes. I've been trying to get my mom to quit for years, and I finally had her going strong for a couple of months before she found out I smoke trees.

Persistence is what worked for me. Just try that.

 

[hymen man]

Originally Posted by TroyMcClure

Sup Hymen? Thanks dawg.
I see you say the word "hopefully"...but why do you hope for something YOU have complete control over?

I come from a family of addictive behavior. I'll admit, I smoke pot, I'd love to smoke it everyday..but for many reasons I can't and I don't.

I always try to step outside of myself, outside of my conditioning, and realistically think about the situation at hand.

Don't render yourself powerless to it. Take control of it and all the facets of life you can. It is your life, isn't it? Don't let a chemical own it, or a thought control you.

Main thing for me, it's just when I'm at work it's the worst because I need something to do to take a break and it's just so common for me to light up.  I have a very addictive personality, was hooked on a few other things a few years ago but was able to kick them, been clean for 2 years now.. just cigarettes that are weighing me down.  It really sucks because I know the people around me are suffering from MY smoking as well, that alone should be reason to quit.  Thanks for the motivation to stop though!
Mojodmonkey: Blu is good for an e-cig? I got the Smoke Free one they sell at the mall by me and it's just a hassle having to change the cartridge and adding the vapor along with charging it.  I used it for a good 2 weeks but after that I was back to old habits 

 

[|A-Man|]

There's some drug if you consume it you'll lose your sense of taste. Drug her food with it. Blame it on the cigs.

It'll eventually ware off I think.

 

[hymen man]

Originally Posted by ATGD7154xBBxMZ

There's some drug if you consume it you'll lose your sense of taste. Drug her food with it. Blame it on the cigs.

It'll eventually ware off I think.

I think you might be referring to Welbutrin.. I also tried that as well, it did make me stop smoking  - the taste of the cig was awful, but I had other side affects with that med so I had to get off it.  It's actually an anti-depressant but it made me feel even more depressed 

.  I'd rather smoke than have my mental health be completely out of wack due to a drug like that so I stopped.  Have her try it though, the taste definitely changes.. it's so nauseating that she won't even want the cig.

 

[mplsdunk]

I smoke a pack or more a day. I really need to quit. 9 years of it is gonna make it rough when I do. I'm gonna need something to help me. Cold turkey doesn't work for me. I've tried. Plus I was possible the rudest person and I don't like that.

 

[chuxndunx]

If she genuinely doesn't wanna quit, she won't quit. She has to find a reason to quit for herself. And unfortunately quitting for somebody, even for their child, won't work. That's how vicious nicotine is : (

I smoked for about 5 years, a pack a day. One day I was coughing real bad like your mom and I seriously thought I was going to die. I thought about all the things I wanted to do, and had to do. "I can't die now." My parents were already struggling with money. If I get cancer our family has no future. My innocent older brother who studies hard in school and avoids trouble at all cost has no future. My dad who wakes up at 5 in the morning to work in downtown LA and comes back home at 10 at night means nothing. My mom who sacrifices everything so me and my brother can have what little things we have means nothing. All because of me, who got cancer. I have the potential to be great. I am great. I want to show the world that I'm not your regular dude. I want to give back to my family for what they've done for me. I want to give back to the friends that supported me. I want to prove myself to all the haters that I'm above them.

Notice how those thoughts are in present tense: I seriously thought that this was going to happen.

I would think of all the worst case scenarios and just had'em running through my mind. I psyched myself out on purpose and it worked. I cold turkeyed, avoided all my friends who smoked, and now I'm a pimp.

 

[je ne sais quoi]

My dad smoked for almost 20 years, but around the mid 90s he went cold turkey.
Some factors to his success:
my brother told him he couldn't breathe when he smoked
he was banned from smoking in the crib, so he had to face cold winters and apartment stairs
NY prices are insane to Philippines prices he was used to
he didn't chill with people that smoked

Now, more than 15 years later, he honestly can't stand the smell of smoking.
It's like he never smoked before.

 

[jaysneaks]

I quit smoking weed May 28, 2012 and haven't looked back.