Six Ways You Can Help Someone Stop Smoking

Six Ways You Can Help Someone Stop Smoking

When a person decides one day that they want to quit smoking, then that is the easiest part of the process. What comes next is withdrawal symptoms, anger, mood swings and in many cases, failure.

What a friend or loved one who has decided to give up smoking really needs is support. Going it alone is ridiculously tough, and that is borne out by the number of people who try and fail each year to give up.

This is where you come in. If you’ve got a friend or loved one who has made the decision to give up, then there are many ways in which you can help them make a success of it.

Here are six things you can do to help a friend or loved one quit smoking

Check regularly to see how they are getting on

This isn’t just a “Have you had a cigarette?” question. Ask how they are feeling, and how it is going in general. Take an interest in their progress rather than just wondering if they’ve fallen off the wagon.

Help them get items that can help them quit

Hard candy to suck on, a straw to chew on, rubber bands to play with; there are many different items that can take the place of a cigarette in your friend or loved one’s hands and mouth. The habitual process of holding something may help them to forget about the habit. Something small that is easy to access and provides a distraction may be the perfect way to help start the process.

Lighten their load

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The cravings and withdrawal that comes from kicking a nicotine habit can lead to irritation, mood swings, and extreme decision. Help your friend or loved one avoid overly stressful situations by offering to assist with chores, childcare or anything that will lighten the burden upon them while they try to quit.

Get support

Your friend or family member may not be an addict in the truest form of the world, and they are doing their best to kick the habit, but there is no harm in going along to free meetings for family members of addicts near me. They can offer support and guidance with your mission to help your loved one quit.

Offer advice

They’ll have no doubt formulated their own plan, but you might have something they haven’t thought of such as which supplements they can take to help them on their path to quitting. Who knows, a little bit of research from you to show you care could lead to discovering one of the key ingredients to them giving up for good.

Spend time together

If your friend or family relative is out and about doing fun activities they will enjoy, they are far less likely to turn towards a cigarette. Go to the movies together, go out for dinner, take a walk in a park – anything that they will enjoy and that takes them out of a smoker’s environment.