My boyfriend has a smoking addiction. How can he stop because he needs help?

[devoygf]

he smokes because he suffer from depression

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+1 y

he said he wants to stop

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+1 y

will he ever stop

[FunkyMonkee]

According to a psychologist friend of mine, there's 3 main ways.
1. Cold turkey.
2. Gradual cessation.
3. I think the third one is called over-saturation.
In cold turkey, you just stop dead. In gradual cessation,. let's say he smokes 20 a day right now. He smokes his usual 20 today, tomorrow, he only smokes 19. The next day, 18, etc. until he gets it down to 1 and then the next day, none. You can try it daily, or weekly (20 a day this week, 19 a day next week, etc.) or any variation you want like, 20 a day for 3 days, 19 for the next 3, etc.. Nicotine is more addictive than heroine and it's the drug telling you that you want more. The more you take, the more you want.
Psychologically speaking, smoking is an oral fixation: a NEED to have something in your mouth so, every time he wants a smoke, replace it with something else; a stick of gum, a piece of candy (like the kind you have to keep in your mouth for a while until it dissolves), etc.. Maybe he could take a run around the block every time he feels the need to smoke. If nothing else, the heavy breathing will help his lungs clean out.
A guy I used to work with was a smoker before I met him and he told me that, one day, he just stopped dead and never wanted them anymore!
When we were kids, dad used to smoke and we eventually got him off it by just hiding all of his smoking gear! He got the message and just quit! (He started out with Winstons and then they put out this cigarette making machine by a company called, Laredo. You slide open this tiny door on the side of the gizmo, load that up with tobacco good & tight, slide the door shut, put a rice paper tube on the end of the gizmo and hold it on tight while you slide another knob over towards the paper and it fills the paper with the tobacco. You slide the paper back off and light up! It was a pretty cool little device and we loved rolling them for him! Then he switched to a pipe. At least that smelled a lot better.) So, he spent his last 48 years clean!

[VinnyMac]

My brother smokes and for years I've tried to give him reasons on why he should quit. I've heard that once you start it's super hard to quit. It's one of the most difficult addictions to overcome and It's truly sad that cigarettes are allowed to be sold innthe first place. To knowingly sell something that litterly kills people just blows my mind. I suppose the same can be said about alcohol, although alcohol becomes a problem when not consumed in moderation. The sooner a person stops smoking their health improves and even then takes some time before the damage that cigarettes have done reverses and their body heals.

One thing I find myself always bringing up to my brother is how much money he would save if he didn't smoke. He's often short on money and wishing he could afford different things and not buying cigarettes would make a difference. Cigarettes are ridiculously expensive. I think it be good to remind your boyfriend of all the other things he could do with that money. He could use it to take you out on nice dates where you both can have a good time and enjoy yourself, he could use it for something lasting that he will actually be able to use or save it for his future rather than puffing it all away because doing that shortens a person's life.

I really hope that your boyfriend is able to quit. I've heard by some that buying the nicorette gum helps or there's patches. I even think there is a way of reconditioning a person's thoughts so that their brain reprograms itself to think differently. Some people rather then quitting cold turkey it is better to slowly wean themselves off little by little until the desire disappears.

[Xoxocutekitty]

Most (daily) smokers smoke for life. Not that they can't quit for 1 year, 10 years, even 30 years in between, but most go back to it at some point. It's their vice and it's one of the things they do to cope with stress that 'doesn't harm anybody.'

It's an expensive habit, and makes them a little less desirable to kiss (my opinion), but it's not the worst thing in the world. Binge gambling/alcohol intake are much worse. If you don't smoke though, it can quickly become a deal breaker, because it really doesn't go awa.

[devoygf]

will he ever stop

[BipBipLeddus]

Cold turkey. It's really not easy. I only stopped because I got pregnant, and to this day I crave the delicious taste of a marlboro menthol.

I think hard candy probably helped the most when I was fiending. Just having something to manipulate in my mouth took my mind off it. Headache medicine dealt with the withdrawal.

[Craftsman]

It's been said often enough; if he wants to quit, it's his call. If he doesn't, no amount of persuasion is going to help. It is a very powerful addiction.
Quitting is possible. I quit smoking over a pack a day 24 years ago, last night, as a matter of coincidence. It was not easy. I had tried often enough for all kinds of reasons. Ultimately, I quit for me. Sounds selfish. It is true. I wanted to live without the social, financial and health costs of the addiction.
I started out with nicotine patches, to which I developed an allergy. Probably it was the adhesive, but I'm not sure about that. Those worked for me until I needed something more.
I found 'something more' in Nicotine Anonymous. That's a twelve-step program that worked for me when nothing else did. I don't know how it works, and I don't have to. I've inhaled only clean air for many years now. Quitting is the best thing I ever did for myself.
The Nicotine Anonymous World Services Website is:
https://www.nicotine-anonymous.org.
They have listings of all the meetings, many of which are virtual on-line. The program is free, has no dues or fees, and one can attend meetings whether one has quit or not, for as long as one wants or needs to.
There are other programs as well. Those can be found by searching for 'quit smoking program' and similar search strings. They too have success stories. One can develop their own program and system, though it's hard without help. In the end, one must do what works.

[wkozak]

I think your boyfriend is so young and he didn't addicted to smoking for a long time, it'll be easy but at first you must calculate how many cigarettes he consumes a day, for example he smokes 20 one a day, make a goal for him to smoke only 18 a day, and after he used to smoke 18 make him smoke 16, and try to decrease the number by time, until he stops, you can let him smoke only one cigarette every 2 days, then every 4 days, then every week, and so on until he feel that he doesn't need it anymore.

[devoygf]

I'll try

[devoygf]

to help him quit

[wkozak]

I forgot to tell you something important, make him leave that friend who offer cigarettes to him, that person is the reason why your boyfriend addicted cigarettes.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

Start off by helping him manage it. Wean him off, and come up with a system to reward himself. He's young enough that the whole "once a smoker, always a smoker" thing is not true. Casey Neistat stopped at around 25, my dad stopped when he was in his late 30's he is 53 now and has smoked a couple cigars since then.

Figure out a way to make it worth his while

[Kaneki05]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/LDlo10ZS_-Q

Personally I will never get such addictions I find it super easy just to stop smoking but some people just cannot. Thing is he will only stop when he truly chooses to.

[globetrotter22]

You can’t force him to stop. He needs to stop because he wants to.

However I recommend that he tries to get involved with more sports (especially ones with cardio). If he took up running he probably start to dislike smoking more and more when he feels what it does to his lungs.

[TransAm85]

That makes a lot of sense. I've been smoking since I was about 16. My friend worked at a quick mart so she'd sell them 2 me for $3. Now I'm getting the bad long term effects.. bronchitis and walking pneumonia. Nvr caught COVID. But ur right. I get outta breath easily when I get sick especially. It's not worth it! My Grandma died from lung cancer.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Tell him that the maternal side of my family all died due to cigarette related cancer
my late mom, her brother ( my uncle), moms dad ( my grand-dad) yes sadly it's happened not much we can do, my mom's body failed to give off the chemical
in cigarettes, she wasn't a smoker all of the time but she did smoke menthol
Share with your boyfriend throat cancer is not a pretty sight and neither is lung cancer
I saw this with my maternal grand-dad

[Nagahime]

He has to stop on his own. He can get support from you, but at the end of the day, he has to want to stop the addiction bad enough to get it to end. You can try and convince him to get therapy or go to rehab and see if he's on board with it. If he doesn't stop and you don't like the fact that he does this, you just might have to cut ties with him.

[GlassTop]

He’s not going to stop. He’s addicted. Don’t expect him to change. It’s not going to happen unless they want it to. They aren’t going to change for you. It’s also chemically impossible. They are hard wired to chemically satisfy their desires. It’s like trying to tell a 300lb obese person to suddenly change their diet to only 1000-1500 calories. It’s almost impossible, and they will probably rebound harshly.

[_no_one_]

In case of smoking two things happen, it either goes with time itself as the person matures or the person is gone. Not much u can do there man's an addict you can try gettin him into a rehab (guilt trips might help) and ask his parents for help? otherwise RIP

[KellyPlayz333555]

One of my uncles from my mum side smokes and my dad is not happy about that. Also, one day when my dad’s back was hurting, my mum drank some wine and I wasn’t even older enough to drive. I was about this age which is 17 1/2 when we spent Christmas with my uncles.

[ohshee]

What what kind of smoking addiction you can smoke all kinds of things I think if he truly wants to he can do it I think if anybody wants to do anything they can do it but they had to put their mind to it and a lot of effort

[dustybiker]

He has to want to stop. Nothing will work until he reaches that point. Then he has to find a way that best works for him.
My friend and his dad decided to quit together. The patch worked for them as much as the support from each other.

[AviatorTom]

I dated a girl once who wanted to quit smoking, so I gave her something other than a cigarette to put in her mouth... me. You can do the same, Give him something better to do with his mouth whenever he gets the urge to smoke.

[Fireguy17]

First he gas to want to stop smoking.
Until then, like any addict they won't stop.
My mom used hypnosis, it worked after the first time, but she went a 2nd time just to be safe.
She smoked 2 packs a day easy.

[slatyb]

Does he want to Stop? If he doesn’t, there’s nothing you can do. If he does, there’s nothing for you to do.

[devoygf]

he want to Stop

[baldsubhuman]

He will get yellow teeth, weaker erections, and smell like disgusting smoke. So if he can he should slowly lessen the dosage and eventually stop

[jamesgoldman]

Nicotine patches or gum might help

My brother and father are both cigarette smokers (my father used to smoke a pipe and does smoke cigars) but I only partake in the occasional Cuban cigar

[Yumix]

Either he wants to stop or he doesn't. Even he tries just because other people tell him to then it won't work. It's a test of mental strength and willpower, so he needs to come to the conclusion that he should stop himself

[007kingifrit]

he might. but have you ever smoked? its hard to hear that you should stop from someone who never used them. maybe he would listen more if you had some experience

[devoygf]

I never smoked before

[007kingifrit]

well it will be really hard for you to empathize with what he's going through. you're not an authority on it

[TheMajesticKing777]

Actually I just quit and I'm already 2 days in, what is trying to quit smoking tho?

[JoyGirl]

Finallyyyyyy
Good job! 💜

[TheMajesticKing777]

Thanks 😌