How to Help a Friend Quit Smoking

How to help a friend quit smoking

 Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the U.S.  Smoking causes lung cancer, heart attacks, emphysema, and stroke.  People who smoke have much  shorter life expectancies than people who don’t.

 How do you help a friend or family member quit smoking?  It isn’t easy.  Smoking is a difficult habit to break.  Smoking is an addiction with physiological and psychological components.

 Nevertheless, there are things you can do to help someone quit smoking.  In my talk I will explain how to present a smoker with information on the health consequences of smoking, how to develop a Quit Smoking Plan, and how to persuade a smoker to follow such a plan.

 I realize that by talking about the health affects of smoking I run the risk of depressing the whole audience.   I promise to move quickly to the more practical question of how to quit.

 The health consequences of smoking are well documented.  Two places to find such information are the Mayo Clinic website and the American Lung Association website.

 Smoking is responsible for nearly one in five deaths in the United States. Almost half a million people die every year from the consequences of smoking.

On average, smokers die 13 to 14 years sooner than nonsmokers do.

Lung cancer is the No.1 cause of cancer death in the United States.

Almost 90,000 Americans die each year of coronary heart disease caused by smoking.  Smokers have triple the risk of coronary heart disease that nonsmokers have.

Smoking raises your blood pressure, cholesterol level and your risk of blood clots. A smoker is two to six times more likely to have a heart attack, and the more you smoke, the higher your risk.

Depending on how well you know a smoker, you could simply mention these websites or print out and discuss the information with the smoker.

 After reviewing the health affects of smoking, the next step in quitting smoking is the Quit Smoking Plan.

 A quit smoking plan is a detailed list of steps that someone should take to quit smoking.  It is usually not realistic for someone to just wake up one day and quit smoking.  A certain amount of planning and preparation is needed.

A quit smoking plan should mention some of the health and other reasons that provide the motivation for a smoker to quit. 

A quit smoking plan should set a quit date, which is a date sometime in the near future, when the smoker will plan to stop smoking.  This gives a smoker time to prepare to kick the habit.

The bulk of the quit smoking plan contains a series of actions the smoker needs to take to get ready to quit.  Such actions include joining a local smoking cessation class, identifying a group of people who can provide support when the smoker quits, and reviewing the quit smoking literature available on the ALA website.  This website contains a detailed seven module program called Freedom from Smoking which describes how to quit smoking.

A smoker can also join a gym or get a treadmill, because exercise is helpful for someone giving up smoking.  In addition, smokers can consult a doctor or pharmacist about nicotine patches and gum and become familiar with smokeless cigarettes as an alternative to smoking.  

Other possibilities include starting deep breathing yoga exercises, using relaxation CDs, or squeezing a physical therapy ball to relieve tension.  A quit smoking plan needs to be tailored a bit for each individual.

 A Quit Smoking Plan is fairly easy to prepare.  The hard part is getting a smoker to follow the plan.

 There is no guaranteed way to get a smoker to follow a quit smoking plan.  However there are some things you can try.
 To get the smoker’s attention you might try sending the smoker some of the anti smoking merchandise available for sale on the ALA web site.  There you can order T shirts and other items with slogans urging people not to smoke.

 You may be able to convince the smoker to prepare a quit smoking plan.  If not, you can prepare one yourself and give it to the smoker.  You can also talk about the plan with the smoker and explain the importance of each step of the plan.

 Repetition is a useful tool of persuasion, so remind the smoker as often as possible of the quit smoking day and the need to prepare for it. 

 Explain to the smoker that the withdrawal symptoms are worst in the first 7 to 10 days after quitting.  This may enable the smoker to get through the first few days.

 Spending some money on the effort may also help.  For example, if the smoker cannot afford a quit smoking class or an exercise program, you could pay for it yourself.  This will show that you take the issue seriously, and they should too.

 Preaching  to or nagging the smoker not to smoke is probably not that helpful.  Part of what you do will depend on the smoker’s attitude.  The smoker may have no interest in quitting and rebuff your efforts entirely.  Or, he or she might have some interest in giving up smoking, but may be unwilling to follow every step of the quit smoking plan.  In some cases a smoker might need just a little nudge to quit smoking.

 Another possibility is that after the quit smoking date the smoker succeeds in cutting down on smoking but does not quit entirely.  In this case you need to praise the smoker’s effort to quit but also remind the smoker that it is necessary to quit completely.  Review the reasons to quit with the smoker – often health benefits alone are not enough to persuade a smoker to quit.  Also review the parts of the quit smoking plan that were not followed and try to get the smoker to follow those parts of the plan as well.

 You are doing a friend a big favor by trying to help him or her quit smoking.

 To be successful, you need the right tools.  Consult relevant websites for information on the health affects of smoking.  Prepare a detailed quit smoking plan.  Convince the smoker to follow the plan.

 46 million Americans who once smoked have successfully quit.  It isn’t easy, but the health benefits are considerable. 

 You may feel bad if your friend does not quit.  The best thing to do in that case is to say “good try.”  Quitting smoking often takes several attempts, and each attempt is a step forward.

 If you have a friend or family member who smokes, try helping them to quit.  Stick with it.  If you are not successful on the first attempt, remember the old adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”