You watch as your father exhale a billowing smoke laden with nicotine after deeply sucking all of it first in his lungs. That can make you cringe if he has been doing that since you can remember. Knowing that long time smokers are susceptible to various morbid diseases causing early death, you would wish that he would stop smoking. That, however, is easier wished or said than done. If you are a smoker who successfully quit the habit, you know that asking your father to stop will take gargantuan efforts for him to stop.
Understanding the Real Reason behind Smoking
He will enumerate a lot of reasons to smoke; smokers always have a reason to smoke. He will tell you that it is life’s simple pleasure that heightens a gastronomic meal. If he has a cerebral job, he will justify that he needs to puff a stick to churn more creative ideas. He may even tell you that he needs a smoke to stay awake in the job, to relieve his stress, to relax during breaks from work, or to have it with coffee like a ritual. One thing that he and the other smokers don’t seem to recognize is that they continue to smoke because they are addicted to the nicotine.
A Peek at “Addiction”
It is the addiction that makes it hard for long time smokers to say goodbye to the bad habit. They will continue to smoke even if they know it can make them more susceptible to coronary and respiratory diseases, or die younger because of it. Becoming hooked to nicotine is a strong possibility for long time smokers. Nicotine addiction is also a result of smoking cigarettes with higher nicotine contents. Cigarette companies have technologies to increase the nicotine content in the tobacco, cigarette filters and wrappers, and to develop new chemical variants.
Do you know that only one in ten smokers can successfully kick this bad habit? The addiction is hard to kick so that, according to FDA, about 50 percent of lung cancer patients who have gone under the knife and recovered still reach for a pack soon after.
Introducing the e-Cigarettes
Shifting to e-Cigarettes can be the strategy to wean your father from cigarettes. Long time smokers would detect the difference in the level of nicotine and their satisfaction level on the first attempt. That can deter him; the process may not be as easy as it seems. If on the first try he rejects the idea or he was unhappy with the experience, don’t give up. If you love your father (or another relative) enough, you would never stop from exploring and finding the brand that he would come to like as a good substitute.
Point out the advantages like being able to smoke indoors when the temperature outside is so nippy in the mornings. He can also smoke e-Cigarettes indoors without being nagged by your mom particularly when there are young grandkids and nonsmokers around.
A Tactical Gift
Ask your spouse to gift your father with an e-Cigarette this Christmas or next Father’s Day to compel your father to give it a try; he may easily say “NO” to you but not to his son/daughter-in-law. The older generations do feel obligated to give gifts a try out of respect and appreciation; use that for your purpose. He may not warm up to the innovative idea right away, but you can never tell if the strategy will work or not unless you try. The most important thing is for him to give it a try and you never give up.
If he has been a long time smoker, it is always worth your time to try the e-Cigarettes option after all what you are offering is a gift of life borne out of a child’s great love for his/her father. That may just convince him; so, take quitting with e-Cigarettes one day at a time.