How to get a sick person to stop smoking?

Question

We've been dealing with finding a care facility for my brother-in-law (68), who suffers with back problems from an injury years ago. He was just hospitialized for an abscess in his tooth & had to have a feeding tube. He's weak & needs to have someone check on him daily.
He's a chain smoker. His pain medicine doesn't work well because of the smoking.
The doctors in the hospital put him on nicotine patches whilst he was there but he won't continue with them, even though it worked.
Most care homes will not take smokers but he's not willing to give it up to get into somewhere nice.
He lives about 130 miles away & my husband & I are trying find somewhere nearer so we can help with his care.
Any idea's??? We've tried everything from  kindness to shocking him with statistics but it's not sinking in.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Annie a person has to want to quit or it's useless to try unless he is ready.
I asked a question about my friend who has throat cancer. She wont quit smoking.
Even though the outcome will be horrible. The only solution you may have is to have
someone come into his home to take care of him. If you take him to any place that wont accept
smokers he will say NO. Why >>> Because he is not ready to quit due to his addiction.

Bob M · Answer

These days, smoking is harder to quit than any other drug (addiction) known to man.  Since Tobacco Manufacturers were required to stop advertising their product, I think that they've included more addictive chemicals in their cigarettes to get people "hooked" faster.

At age 68 and being a chain smoker ~ your brother-in-law is well and truly hooked on the habit of getting the "hit" that nicotine delivers, plus the habit of "hand to mouth" addiction.  The problem won't go away by itself and the worst thing is that he'll most likely take up another habit to replace smoking if he's able to quit cigarettes.

Any smoker must decide for themselves that they no longer wish to smoke and being constantly told by you, your husband and Doctors will only make him more stubborn and continue to do exactly as he wishes.  Every "long term" smoker knows that cigarettes aren't good for them and they're quite prepared to risk their health until they're confronted with a smoking-related-sickness that's so bad ... they finally realize that they've been stupid and tobacco is killing them. 

Probably the best way for you to help him quit, is for him to regularly be involved with people he loves and respects .... people who don't smoke .... and he'll eventually feel like he's an "outsider" and not welcome to be in the group because of his habit.  Provided that he loves his family and friends more than he loves his addiction ~ he might quit, but if his Addiction is stronger than his Will Power ................................ (the end result is obvious)

Perhaps it's not the most diplomatic way of convincing him to quit, but you might suggest to him that he makes an appointment for a Funeral Service Salesman to visit him.  That way he can arrange his own Funeral Arrangements .......... because you refuse to be involved!!

Georgia · Answer

You can't bombard him with pressure like that; the probably the reason he won't budge. Most smokers smoke beacuse of stress, so I reccomend you just sympathize and maybe show him the places he would get into, and then when he finds one he likes alot tell him they dont accept smokers. but dont try to make him feel bad or make him another one of your statistics; make him feel special.

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How to get a sick person to stop smoking?

3 Answers