Quit Smoking Advisory

Seeing a loved one destroying their health, seemingly willingly, by smoking cigarettes can be one of the saddest sights in life. In many ways, you can’t think about it too much because there is only so much that you can do to help - or is there actually more that you could try?

Smoking is an addiction and helping people who have an addiction is notoriously difficult. Under most circumstances, there is very little that you can do unless they come to you and ask for help. Otherwise, you can drop some hints from time to time, give a few pointers, but unfortunately the way that addiction works means that many smokers just ignore your advice because the addiction tells them to.

Who Can You Help?

When someone you know asks for your help or is trying to quit then these are the ideal times to help them. On the other hand, if this has never even made a single quit attempt in all the years that you have known them then it is probably almost a lost cause. A huge event like a brush with death or something happening to one of their loved ones is the only thing that will snap them into “I’m thinking of quitting” mode.

Why Do They Need Help?

Most smokers expect a very hard struggle to quit cigarettes. Someone in this situation needs all the help that they can get. A smoker has a much greater chance of succeeding if they have a good support group around them.

What Kind Of Help Do People Offer To Smokers?

First of all, you should give them great moral support and tell them that they ARE capable of achieving the goal of being smoke free. Ask them to visualise themselves as a non-smoker, this is a powerful technique used by many successful people such as sportsmen.

Many smokers also suffer if they have a lot of distractions that might cause them to start again. If you live with a person, for instance, make sure that visitors to the house do not smoke indoors anymore and definitely do not offer your friend or loved one any cigarettes whatsoever, even as a joke.

It can also be a good idea to refer smokers to smoking support websites including forums, of which there are quite a few that can be accessed for free. Beware though, you will see the whole spectrum of opinions here and the advice is both good and bad.

Does Support Really Help To Succeed At Quitting?

There is no doubt that support groups can help people to quit smoking. The statistics show a marginal improvement at least in the ability to remain smoke free for a few weeks. As the months roll by though, the success rate of people who are still non-smokers is quite low generally (e.g. at 6 months) and with only minor improvement with a support group. So we can see that help and support works but only to a degree.

Is There Another Way?

The core problem with the way that most people stop smoking is that it centers around the cravings. If you get cravings then you need willpower. If you need willpower then you need mental strength and toughness. If you need to be strong then any help and support that you can get will be of great assistance. If there were a way to tackle the cravings then less help would be needed.

The Wrong Way

Society’s approach to the cravings is to use temporary fixes like patches, pills, injections, lasers and more. All of these are temporary and the cravings return afterwards. So these people still need help but a little later than normal - maybe 3 months after quitting.

The Right Way

I used to smoke over 20 cigarettes a day but I was able to quit smoking without need any further help than I already had. I stumbled across a way to quit smoking without willpower and without cravings and this was all the help that I needed. I even went out to bars after quitting, where the air was chock full of smoke. All of my friends were smokers but I still hung out with them. I couldn’t throw out the “distracting” ashtrays because everyone in the house needed them - but that’s the point - ashtrays, lighters, cigarettes, smoker friends - none of these tested my will or resolve because I simply had no desire for cigarettes anymore.

If you really want to help someone quit smoking then steer clear of traditional remedies like patches and pills. To find out more about how I quit smoking without willpower, click here.