Getting a smoker to quit...

[Joushou]

Hey!

I have a small problem... As you might tell from the title, i know someone who smokes.

Normally, i wouldn't care, and let people decide on their own. But, lets just say that i care more about this person...

I'm too far away to directly stop her from smoking, and i'm not sure if my attempts to educate her on the matter worked... She says she usually only smoke a cigarette every 2 days, but in my opinion, that's a cigarette too many, especially putting her age into the equation... I'm worried...

I have 2 ideas at the time: Telling her mom (No offense Lily! :P), or a rather extreme and very stupid method that i'd rather avoid.

Telling her mom would maybe work, but i'm not that mean, and i don't think i'd be very popular afterwards!

I would rather avoid the alternative method... It's not fun... The idea behind it is to give every cigarette a consequence.


SO, do you have any experience on making smokers quit? Especially the ones that are sure they can control the addiction?

[KSagal]

It has been my experience that one person cannot really ever force another to quit, or do much of anything for that matter...

You can educate people as to the affect that some things will do to them, you can make it personal by visiting a cancer ward and other scary places where they see the results of their actions, but forcing someone to quit is not really that easy...

Let that person know that you care, and give them some other nasty habit to use instead of smoking, if they have a need...

There are lots of products that promise to help, but a person's own will is the only tool that I know that does work. When they are convinced that it is what they want to do, they will do it...

[Joushou]

That was also what i thought...

My alternative method would really be pushing the limits... After burning myself on soldering irons, and metal heated in various ways, i have been a little rough-skinned when it comes to burning my hands...

It was a method i had thought of in case i would ever get a smoking girlfriend, and is rather insane: Take the cigarette, and burn my hand with it. Assuming the girl cared about me, that should scare her from smoking after a few times... I can't do that since i'm so far away, so i would have to light a match... And i already thought the plan was insane the first time!

I'd rather avoid that method, as it would leave a small mark for a while, and there's also the risk of scaring the person away instead...

I suppose i'll just have to try to educate her... And hopefully that will help. Not that a match or a cigarette is anything compared to what i normally burn my hands with! (Note: When you heat bolts till they're red hot in order to loosen them, make sure that they're cold before you pick them up... And, don't grab falling soldering irons by the iron... And... :P)

[KSagal]

I dunno...

Your volunteering to light your hands on fire has pretty much convinced me not to smoke, and I don't even particularly like you! (I think any psychoanalysts among us would have a field day with your plan. )

Actually, I don't smoke, and other than about 2 weeks a million years ago, when I was your age, I never have. I find it a rather vulgar and nasty habit, but not really much worse than many habits out there.

I personally think that all the anti smoking propaganda is just do gooders trying to control other people's lives much more than any else, though I am sure that it is not good for you. Of course, neither is driving too fast, or arguing with everyone. All three will increase your risk of getting in trouble of one sort or another.

[Joushou]

Sure, many arguments are not worth a whole lot... Cancer, for one, can't be proven... But it still does some damage to the lungs that have been proven. Your lung capacity gets significantly lowered over time, and your voice can get damaged by more extreme smoking. You teeth and fingers can also get yellow and crooked.

Hahah, oh, i know you love me Karl!

Yeah, my plan was to make a short video of me doing that, and send them to her every time i had solid evidence that she had been smoking... One for every cigarette. My source would be some of our mutual friends.

If she stopped viewing the clips, they would go to youtube.

And yes, it would be fun to have a psychoanalyst look at it! :P

(Oh, and i wasn't planning on lighting my whole hand on fire, just kill a match in the palm :P)

[Gihgehls]

One cigarette per day is an extremely small amount. A hardcore, unfiltered cigarette has about 2 mg of nicotine, and most of it is burned off so the smoker inhales a much smaller portion of it. Nicotine is addictive, and classified as a toxin, but in small doses many people find it a chemical they can enjoy in moderation, much like alcohol. Smoking tobacco (or burning anything an inhaling) is terrible for you, but it isn't the only way to enjoy nicotine. Electronic cigarettes are awesome and I've used one for months now, haven't touched a nasty analog cigarette in a long while. Some might say it is replacing one addiction for another, but, you know, personal choices. The one I use is a Volcano and if you're interested in ordering, let me know as they have a referral program

[Gihgehls]

Originally Posted by Joushou

Assuming the girl cared about me, that should scare her from smoking after a few times...

Or just scare her away from you because she thinks you're crazy.

[Joushou]

Yup, that is also a reason i don't want to use that method... It's creepy as hell! xD
But i don't have any other ideas, and i know she's only doing it to be a rebel...

I know one cigarette wont hurt, and nicotine doesn't damage in small doses, but still... The chances of her going to smoke a cig more is pretty high, and i know plenty of people who started like that

[Lily Kerns]

Originally Posted by KSagal

It has been my experience that one person cannot really ever force another to quit, or do much of anything for that matter...

You can educate people as to the affect that some things will do to them, you can make it personal by visiting a cancer ward and other scary places where they see the results of their actions, but forcing someone to quit is not really that easy...

Let that person know that you care, and give them some other nasty habit to use instead of smoking, if they have a need...

There are lots of products that promise to help, but a person's own will is the only tool that I know that does work. When they are convinced that it is what they want to do, they will do it...

You can lead a horse to water....

A person has to want to quit... but that doesn't make it any easier
for them, it just gives them the incentive to actually do that. I'd say it's OK to let her mother know you care--I'd be impressed-- but don't push things too hard. It has to be her decision--and it is yours on how deep a concern this finally is for you...

Best wishes to both of you...

[KSagal]

Originally Posted by Gihgehls

One cigarette per day is an extremely small amount. A hardcore, unfiltered cigarette has about 2 mg of nicotine, and most of it is burned off so the smoker inhales a much smaller portion of it. Nicotine is addictive, and classified as a toxin, but in small doses many people find it a chemical they can enjoy in moderation, much like alcohol. Smoking tobacco (or burning anything an inhaling) is terrible for you, but it isn't the only way to enjoy nicotine. Electronic cigarettes are awesome and I've used one for months now, haven't touched a nasty analog cigarette in a long while. Some might say it is replacing one addiction for another, but, you know, personal choices. The one I use is a Volcano and if you're interested in ordering, let me know as they have a referral program

I believe I saw a clip of some hollywood blond bombshell, it may have been Jessica Simpson, on a talk show where she admitted to being addicted to Nicarette Gum. In the clip she indicated that she had never smoked, but loves the gum because it felt to her like there was a party in her mouth!

Goes to show that there are indeed many ways to get the nicotine, and many don't involve cigarettes nor cigarette simulators...