How to get rid of smoking?

[Zane]

Smoking has always been a hard part to talk about with my father, he's been smoking for more than 40 years and he's still keep going on, i think he would have some problems with his lungs but he doesn't , the reason is he keeps practice breathing deeply everyday. But anyway, he should give it up. i and my mom have talked to him so many times about this, and he completely understand this, sometime he made a few days off smoking, but then when he has argument with someone or the stress of work, he smokes again and he said:"i smoke to feel better". i never smoke so i don't know how it feels, but if it's really like that, how can he give it up?

[Dan.Linehan]

He has to want to quit.. if he does, get him this book.

[dali]

live and let live. and stop worrying: your dad knows what he is doing. Worrying about him will get you nowhere.Take it easy and be easy on him. .he will stop when and if he wants to.Meanwhile I trust you ride a bicycle and dont pollute the air with those terminal fumes motorcars spit out into our air? they are far more lethal to everyones lungs. your dads included.Think of the word PUFF.Psychologically thats what a smoke gives to a smoker. PUFF.So when he gets upset at work he runs for a PUFF. A puff then seems to work for him. Theres not much of a puff in your wife and your son trying to stop you from getting something that you really need , something that you believe makes all the difference in your day.Let him have his puff. He is looking after his breathing by the sounds of it.You look after yours and ours if you can be bothered ...and dont drive those cars!He is more likely to stop if left alone with his issues. Surely you remember that yourself.You dont sound like an old person?Wasnt it always the case when mum and dad got on to you about something you just stuck your heels in all the more? Dads are no different, believe me, theyre just bigger and older but they are BOYS really. So cut him some slack and go worry about the planet if you need to worry about pollution .Interestingly..What do you do to calm yourself eg when you get upset? That book by the way is very good I hear so maybe you could give your dad that or leave it lying around and just watch without prying to see the progress although I believe the author advises his readers to smoke through the first read and stop once they are ready to read it for a second time. It is more encouraging than worrying I am told. All the best .

[hkalchemy]

People only do something if they WANT to do it. Your dad needs to WANT to quit. How can you get him to want it?

Logic doesn't work - he already knows how bad for him it is. So you need to give him some really good reason to quit. What could it be?

[MattSuwak]

When I quit smoking, I did it because everybody told me I couldn't.

But to use that as motivation, I'd imagine in vivid detail some of the terrible things that might happen to me. I'd imagine each drag as being a breath from an oxygen tank, or think about my family having to deal with me being sick, and then dying. Not just acknowledging the fact but really thinking about how it would look if I weren't around to rationalize it.

Quitting is so hard to do. It's the kind of thing where I'd go for a few days then have a cigarette casually, which led to another, and before long I was rationalizing that it was okay to buy one more pack. It sneaks up on you, and if your body is addicted to something it can send some pretty convincing and attractive signals.

My advice would be to talk to your father and ask if he really wants to quit, deep down, or if he doesn't want to yet. That works both ways- if he wants to, you can use that to help if he wants it. If he says that he just wants to keep smoking, there is a level of guilt that will hang over him for making you give up on him, which he can use at the right time as proper motivation to really quit.

[WilliWibald]

I can also recommend the book that Dan mentioned (from Allen Carr).
I mean, it can be a waste of time to convince someone of something that he/she doesn't want. But you have somewhat an influence of what kind of information someone reaches and what therefore he/she will think about and therefore relatively indirect you have an influence what someone finally wants. Thats where you could start. Giving information. Talk about the horrible things you read about in the newspaper (the familiy father that died of lungcancer at 45 and left 4 kids behind and stuff like that...). But do it in an detached way. As if it is not about your father. More like: These other people, gosh, what they are doing is so wrong... you get the idea, i hope. And of course don't talk about that all the time. Just once in a while.
Hope that helps.