If someone in your life is a smoker, you might be concerned for her health and the health of family members who breath in her second-hand smoke. While you can't quit smoking for your loved one, you can be a powerfully tool in her smoking cessation arsenal. The American Cancer Society recommends that smokers gather a support system they can call upon when cravings strike. You can be the person a smoker leans on as she quits.
Step 1
Plan a small celebration or ritual to usher your friend into the ranks of the smoke-free. The American Cancer Society recommends picking a quit date and throwing away all her smoking related items. Make this activity the central focus of the party.
Step 2
Call your friend each day to ask about her quit program. Encourage her to call you every time she gets a craving she thinks she can't get through. Talk her out of smoking each time she thinks she might cave. Remind her about how much better she'll look and feel and how much money she'll be saving.
Step 3
Make a daily exercise date with your friend and make her stick to it. Exercise helps improve lung function and releases feel-good brain chemicals that help combat cravings, according to the American Cancer Society. It also helps stave off weight gain associated with quitting.
Step 4
Tell your shared family and friends about your friend's plan to quit. Ask them to respect her decision to quit and to refrain from smoking in her presence for a while or offering her cigarettes.
Step 5
Give her a decorative bank and encourage her to put the money she would have spent on cigarettes each day inside. Match her amount and take a celebratory vacation together at her 6-month or 1-year quitting anniversary.
