My dad is a smoker

[lotteryherd]

My father has been a smoker since he was a teenager. Now he has difficulty breathing and still insists to smoke. He can consume 1 pack or more in a day. What to do?

 

[wooshman]

Get him on e-cigs.

Unfortunately the market has been flooded by them and it is hard to know where to start or even what to go for. The best advice I can give as an ex smoker now vaping is to go to your local vape store with him and to start from there. Don't use the internet and buy stuff from there as you never know what you are getting. Remember the batteries can blow up if not charged correctly.

He will need something with enough kick that he can feel it at the back of his throat and also enough vapour so that it mimics the smoke he would inhale and exhale. Not only is it the habit of putting something to your mouth but also a visual thing too where you need to feel like you have taken a "good drag" on a ciggy.

 

[systemlord]

I have a friend who's the same. Smokes like a trooper, has grandkids who love him, has had various cancers but still insists on chugging away. Some people just won't quit.

 

[formandvoid]

Vape is the way to go but you have to want to give up smoking to do it.

 

[steptoe]

I'm not a fan of vaping,
if you want to vape, then do so,
but it may well be the smoking of the future,
no one knows the damage vaping will do, its only very recently some of the earlier vape solutions got banned due to popcorn lung
so, anyone that claims vaping is safe, is, IMHO, seriously deluded
it has not yet been proven that vaping is any safer than smoking, just not dangerous in the same manner.
vape away, just dont do it in my vicinty, thats from a rollie smoker btw,

 

[wooshman]

I can feel that vaping is doing something to me as I can get a clag at the back of my throat. I will be one of the subjects that is cut open to find out why I died so they can decide if it is better for you than smoking.

I just thought I would add that so I can add one to my post count like the OP.

 

[celticfc]

hi had have been smoking for 45 year , i am 58. ( i was 12 year old )
I stopped when i was 55.
since i was 30 i found it hard to breathe , i was told by the doc. that i have COPD.
https://www.copdfoundation.org/What-is-COPD/Understanding-COPD/What-is-COPD.aspx
since i stopped i still have breathing probs. and they have got worse , ( especially in this weather ) I now use a nebulizer and have oxygen for when i cant breathe , and believe me it not nice , i sometimes get up 3 times a night to either use my nebulizer or oxygen,
IT doesnt get any better , downhill all the way from here , especially if u continue to smoke.
tell him to goto docs. im 99% sure this is what he has
. My best friend is my nebulizer and my LIFE revolves areound it, if i go away or stay the night out i have to take it with me .

 

[grog68]

vaping doesn't do it for everyone, I smoked for 35 years, tried vaping instead and I lasted 2 weeks before going back to the real thing and been smoking for a further 5 years, my wife switched to vaping at same time as me, she lasted long but now does both. why?

Vaping is the new smoking, there is no evidence that it's not bad for you and youths are now taking up vaping in the same way youths took up smoking many years ago. (to look cool) Even worse they think it's perfectly acceptable to vape in your face because 'its only vapour not smoke', and the more vapour they can blow out the better/cooler they look:)

I know the risks I'm taking when smoking, you don't know the risks involved in vaping.

 

[pabloescaban]

I'm not a fan of vaping,

so, anyone that claims vaping is safe, is, IMHO, seriously deluded
it has not yet been proven that vaping is any safer than smoking, just not dangerous in the same manner.
vape away, just dont do it in my vicinty, thats from a rollie smoker btw,

vaping doesn't do it for everyone, I smoked for 35 years, tried vaping instead and I lasted 2 weeks before going back to the real thing and been smoking for a further 5 years, my wife switched to vaping at same time as me, she lasted long but now does both. why?
I know the risks I'm taking when smoking, you don't know the risks involved in vaping.

OK all joking aside

We all know the risks of tobacco smoke, lung cancer, throat cancer and dozens of other cancers
Thickening of the blood causing heart attacks and strokes, the tar is the worst component but lots of the other chemicals cause other problems, formaldehyde etc causing lung irritation and asthma.

If you could just remove the tar from tobacco, most of the above would disappear

I smoked 50 rollies a day - one packet of zig-zag lasted me a day - 50 skins, so my lungs are probably already bollocksed.
I've been vaping (solely vaping, no baccy at all) for just over a year
Never had nic withdrawal symptoms once because I can vape everywhere
I can go for a slash without getting chest pains
I don't get out of breath answering the phone
My blood is in liquid form rather than cottage cheese
No more 45 minute coughing fits every morning
I don't know what the long term effects will be of vaping but I do know what the long term effects of smoking will be, everyone does.

My vapes cost me about £200 per year, whereas smoking was costing me about £2k

just on cost factor alone it's a no brainer, then add in the free health benefits - being able to breathe, exercise, and generally feel better all over.
Also teeth are whiter, breath doesn't smell like dogshit, my house smells like a house and not the inside of an ashtray and can have as much nic as I want, wherever i want (planes, cinemas, hospitals etc) and I can't understand why anyone addicted to nicotine would choose such a filthy delivery system when others are now available, it's a mystery.

Trying vaping while still smoking is how most people start off, this rarely works as a stopping strategy as they always have tobacco in the house, so they're just vaping between cigs - this is like having cakes between meals when you are trying to lose weight.

Continue smoking tobacco if you wish, but don't use the old 'vaping might be just as bad' myth as an excuse, we're all addicted to one thing, nicotine, how you get that into your body is up to you. I started off a year ago on 12% nic, I'm now on 3%, in another few months I'll be on 1% and after that, 0%, and all without packing in 'smoking', in fact, i probably 'smoke' more now than I did when I was on 50 a day.

 

[grog68]

Also teeth are whiter, breath doesn't smell like dogshit, my house smells like a house and not the inside of an ashtray and can have as much nic as I want, wherever i want (planes, cinemas, hospitals etc) and I can't understand why anyone addicted to nicotine would choose such a filthy delivery system when others are now available, it's a mystery.

I would like to know which airlines, cinimas and hospitals allow you to vape in them? most places look at vaping in the same way as smoking and don't allow it. ie you can't go to football and vape within the grounds. Or do you mean you can have a sneaky puff while no one is looking or while hiding in a corner?

I can't and don't intend to argue about the risks of smoking, but as of writing I have not seen any scientific evidence proving that vaping does not cause side effects/ill health. There are plenty of assumptions but no proof as of yet.

Oh and we all know ex smokers are generally the worst anti smokers around

 

[pabloescaban]

I'm not anti-smoking, anyone who visits my house can smoke in the living room if they want to.
Yes, vaping doesn't stink the place up so having a puff whenever and wherever is easy.
You have no scientific evidence that vaping does or does not cause ill health
There's tons of scientific evidence that smoking definitely does cause ill health

This is what I find weird.

A) is known to definitley do harm
B) is unknown to do harm or not but is a tenth of the price and has known benefits

Ergo, I'll stick with A

 

[jimzgemma]

My father has been a smoker since he was a teenager. Now he has difficulty breathing and still insists to smoke. He can consume 1 pack or more in a day. What to do?

There is nothing you can do if he doesn`t want to give up.

 

[lotteryherd]

Thanks for the replies and sharing your stories. And I am afraid of the results you are talking about. Next week will be his birthday, and I am planning to take him to a vape shop and thought it might be a good alternative.