Month: February 2021

Spouse’s Role in Tobacco Cessation

SPOUSE’S ROLE IN TOBACCO CESSATION
Your Spouse is Your World!

Spouse has a very important role to play for tobacco cessation. Here I am only addressing the wife! There would be conflicts I have patients where the husband came to know about his wife’s habit post marriage. Traditionally Indians do not ask about the tobacco habits and even if they do the husbands would usually lie, or say “I will Quit-I promise”. A promise which is hard to keep.

Sufferings of an Indian Lady whose husband smokes –

  • Have to manage with foul smelling husband
  • Keep cleaning the washrooms, bedrooms etc.
  • Cleaning the stains on his clothes (In India it is wife’s job!)
  • Infertility and dis-balanced sexual life
  • Finance and economic dis balance
  • Caretaker when the husband who is often ill because of his tobacco habit
  • Taking care of family when husband is no more or crippled because of illness
  • Passive smoking or tobacco chewing affects
    • Suffer illness (hypertension, COPD, Wrinkling of skin etc)
    • Infective disease – Tuberculosis
    • Complicated diseases like cancer, cardiac, stroke
  • The Future generation may be crippled

A LADY SUFFERS FOR NO MISTAKE OF HERS

Different type of wives when it comes to the tobacco habit of their husband

  1. Helpless and suffering – the Indian traditional wives. She is aware of the harms of tobacco but cannot get the husband to understand or quit.
  2. Ignorant and accepts as it is. Not aware of the harms of tobacco as because it has been used traditionally in her family too
  3. Partners – starts using tobacco along with him.
  4. Firm – She is aware of the harms and firm with her husband and pushes him to rectify his habit
  5. Quarreling – keeps scolding  but does nothing about his tobacco use
  6. Helping – learns the various methods of quitting and takes the husband to doctors, help him quit

NAGGING – because of frustration and suffering at some point of time this would show up and become a part of the relationship. This may have a negative affect and the husband may become more adamant.

TAKE ACTION

A newly wed wife has to take immediate action once she comes to know about the spouse’s disease. If it is accepted in the beginning, but slowly it becomes a chronic issue and gets more difficult to treat as time passes.

The challenge is getting support, tobacco use is so rampant and accepted in the society that she does not get family support. But being firm and knowledgeable helps.

How to know:

There are tell-tale signs of tobacco use whether smoking or chewing

  • Stains on teeth and /or lips
  • Bad foul smelly breaths
  • Constant coughing
  • Stains on nail beds, fingers
  • Foul smelly hairs and cloths

Some behavioral aspects that one needs to notice

  • Chewing gums – constant use
  • Frequently disappearing
  • Going for a walk avoiding you
  • Friend circle

Laboratory and Qualitative assessment

  • Laboratory tests are available for confirmation of tobacco use (Cotinine Test)
  • Qualitative assessment of present health assessment

It is important that one should know and decide before tying the knot. Tobacco is a disease and you do not want to be wedded to a diseased person. Either he takes treatment and is cured for at least 6 months or he is not the right choice for you.

Help is available. Tobacco as a disease needs intensive treatment. ICanCaRe Tobacco Wellness Centers and Online Tobacco Wellness program are just a call away. ICanCaRe team of Certified tobacco Cessation Specialists and Quit Coaches work with you to make your journey smooth, easy, interesting and achievable.

The ICanCaRe Tobacco Wellness Program incorporates evidence-based protocol digitalized intervention program which is both medically validated and scientific in its nature. It is data driven and has given a success rate of 92%.

ICanCaRe Tobacco Wellness Centres with its India’s first digital protocol-based assessment process guide intervention as per requirements.

Do visit the ICanCaRe Tobacco Wellness Centres or register online by visiting our page or call ICanCaRe quit line 011-430-77695.

Spouse’s Nagging in Tobacco Cessation (Quitting Smoking and Chewing Tobacco)

Spouse Nagging – Do’s & Don’ts

Spouse has a very important role to play for tobacco cessation (quitting smoking or tobacco chewing). Frustration and non compliance by a husband gives rise to nagging as means to vent out the current irritation. Nagging by spouse may be due to many reasons, I am restricted here to tobacco use only.

What is Nagging

Annoy or irritate (a person) with persistent fault finding or continuous urging. Nagging although is meant for a good intention but may just have an opposite affect. Because of frustration and suffering at some point of time this would show up and become a part of the relationship. This may have a negative affect and the partner may become more adamant.

A LADY SUFFERS FOR NO MISTAKE OF HERS JUST BECAUSE OF HUSBAND’S TOBACCO USE!

Response/reactions of husbands to nagging:

  1. IGNORE – least bothered; all bickering just falls on a deaf ear
  2. REACT – Quarrelling just becomes part of life
  3. AVOID – spends more time with similar friends outside house
  4. LIE – makes the partner believe that he has quit
  5. ATTEMPT – tries to quit, at some point of time
  6. LOW SELF ESTEEM – previous failed attempts makes him loose confidence in himself, cannot see eye to eye with his spouse and this may reflect in his work
  7. DEPRESSION – severe inappropriate reactions

What to do?

A constant tussle sets in wife constantly urging him to quit and the husband is  not able to find a solution. Majority of self-quit attempts fails!

Ways to Avoid Being a Nag

  • Don’t blame.
  • Don’t demean.
  • Don’t attack.
  • Don’t criticize.
  • Don’t manipulate.
  • Avoid making your spouse feel stupid.
  • Don’t give in to your frustration and do your spouse’s chores. Your mate needs to learn to deal with the logical consequences of being messy.

Instead of Nagging, Try Positive Approaches

  • Share your feelings.
  • Stick to the issue at hand.
  • Keep your statements brief so they don’t turn into long lectures.
  • Don’t make ultimatums.
  • Avoid using the phrases, “You always…” and “You never…” and “You should…”
  • Consider saying “would you” or “will you” rather than “could you” or “can you”. There’s a subtle difference in the way the request will be heard by your spouse.

TAKE ACTION

Tobacco is a disease. It needs treatment and a specialist care. One needs to approach the person with empathy. Empower yourself with the knowledge about tobacco addiction and cure. Download the ICANCARE ANDROID APP.

Help is available. Tobacco as a disease and needs intensive treatment. ICanCaRe Tobacco Wellness Centres and Tobacco Wellness Online program are a call away. ICanCaRe team of Certified tobacco Cessation Specialists and Quit Coaches work with you to make your journey smooth, easy, interesting and achievable.

The ICanCaRe Tobacco Wellness Program incorporates evidence protocol based digitalized intervention program which is very scientific in its approach, data driven and medically validated and at the same time gives 92% success rate.

ICanCaRe Tobacco Wellness Centres with its India’s first digital protocol based assessment process guide intervention as per requirements.

Do visit the ICanCaRe Tobacco Wellness Centres or register online by visiting our page or call ICanCaRe quitline 011-430-77695 for assistance.

Why Do Tobacco Consumers Resist From Quitting Smoking and Chewing

Whenever you approach a tobacco consumer to stop smoking or chewing, the very first and obvious reaction is “Why?”; “I can quit any time I want to.”; “Why are you worried? I will quit when I feel the need”; “I’m not interested.”; “You must smoke with me to feel how relieving it feels.” You experience immediate resistance to the thought of quitting despite knowing the fact that deep down the tobacco addict is feeling guilty and wants to quit the habit.

Ever wondered why there is so much of resistance to quit smoking or chewing? In this blog we are going to explore many such situations which makes a smoker or a chewer hesitant to quitting the habit.

  • Fear of Withdrawals: many smokers and chewers have tried quitting before and relapsed again and again. This is because they have experienced numerous withdrawals ranging from acidity, headache, vomiting, loss of sleep, tingling sensations, irritation, mood swings, restlessness, etc. and have failed to cope and manage it, thereby causing loss of confidence and relapse. They do not want to suffer and experience the pain again. This fear of experiencing the withdrawals makes them very much hesitant to quitting their habit.
  • Loss of confidence from being unable to quit, develops a belief that they can never quit. Hence they do not wish to quit smoking and chewing and keep continuing the habit
  • Many a times some associated illnesses develop from tobacco consumption and these illnesses are eminently visible on quitting tobacco. Again the tobacco consumers start believing that these problems arise from not consuming tobacco and they keep continuing smoking and chewing.
  • There’s lack of proper support from the family, friends and colleagues. Constant nagging causes irritation and abets resistance to quitting
  • Inadequate professional support and lack of experienced cessation experts also results in hesitation in quitting because the tobacco addict does not how to quit and where to reach out for professional assistance to receive the right help in quitting.
  • Many young smokers and chewers do not want to let go off the instant pleasure and kick they experience from smoking and chewing tobacco. Hence they never think about quitting.

So when you try to approach a person to quit their habit, do not directly jump to pushing them to quit. Instead provide assurance and support that quitting is possible and all the challenges can be resolved with proper guidance and support. Tell them the following:

  1. Quitting can be tough but not impossible.
  2. It is ok if they have failed in their quit attempts and relapsed.
  3. Bust the myths and misconceptions around smoking and tobacco consumption.
  4. Withdrawals can be managed with expert’s help and lot of remedies.
  5. It is important to stay firm and committed to one’s thought about quitting.
  6. Assure them that their performance, lifestyle and routine will not be impacted and that their quality of life will be ameliorated after quitting smoking and tobacco. 

Small right actions will result in positive and healthy transformation!!

Every human is unique, keeping this fact intact, at ICanCaRe  we have designed a digital solution to quitting tobacco which is both scientific and medically validated. It helps to customize the quit plan as per the person’s needs to make the quit journey more systematic, simple and evident of the healthy transformation. At ICanCaRe, the success rate of quitting smoking and chewing tobacco is 92%. To quit the habit or to help someone quit the habit, call the helpline 011-430-77695 or visit www.icancare.in/quittobacco for assistance.