How to be supportive of a spouse who is trying to quit smoking -or- Everybody, look out, my wife is quitting smoking!

Being around someone who is trying to quit smoking can be a real pain, you have to endure their insane mood swings and walk on eggshels for the first week or so. The worst case scenario is if you are a male spouse and are married to your female spouse who is trying to quit. Good luck man! The first week of quitting will be by far the most challenging in the history of your relationship. Above all you need to be supportive, and let her know shes doing a great job at beating her addiction.

-Know that for your spouse to quit smoking successfuly, it must be completely their decision. They must have zero pressure from others to quit, especially from you. Let it be known that you would like them to stop smoking for various reasons primarily health, then financial, but ultimately the decision is theirs to make.

-Once it is decided that your spouse wants to quit smoking, perhaps you may gently encourage them to quit around Halloween (or not). This is a great time to quit because of all the distractions, trick or treating door to door, giving out candies, the parties, the costumes, and finally about a weeks worth of candy you could gorge on in place of cigarettes. Then right after Halloween comes that huge distraction called Christmas. Why is it the day after Halloween they start with the Christmas propaganda? That's almost another hub altogether...

-Wash your spouses' jackets or sweaters that they wore while they were smokers. They will appreciate this for in the first couple of days their sense of smell returns fully and if they are surrounded by that yucky cigarette smell, it may trigger a craving.

-Same point as above goes for the entire house. Febreeze the couches and curtains, clean the areas where most of the smoking was done to eliminate that nasty cigarette smell. Don't forget about the car as well! You want the smoker to be in clean surroundings so when they do smell cigarettes they smell how nasty it really is.

-Offer to pick up on a big chunk of the house work. When your spouse is quitting smoking their body is craving for a substance that has been stripped from it causing the quitter to feel an immense feeling of loss or longing. If they are in a clean and cozy environment that is free of clutter and mess it would definitively make them feel more at ease rendering them more fit to deal with the sometimes overwhelming lack of nicotine.

-Avoid doing things that were once associated with smoking. If your spouse would enjoy a steaming cup of coffee with their fag (the cig, not you) then it might be better if she skipped on the coffee for a while for it may trigger a craving through association.

-Do not worry about a little weight gain after quitting smoking. My wife's doctor informed her that she is more at risk of dying by being a smoker than it is to be a little overweight. You can always lose the weight later.

As funny as my title is, I should not have shown it to my wife for her opinion, nor the first paragraph... she didn't find it so funny... patience, understanding, selflessness.