No Smoking Day: Nagging A Partner Will Not Help Them Quit, Study Shows
The Best Ways To Help A Partner Quit Smoking (And The Worst)
Rachel Moss— The Huffington Post UK
We all know smoking has a negative impact on health, so if your partner smokes and you don't, it can be frustrating to say the least.
But a new study has shown that nagging a loved one about their smoking habits will not help them quit.
Instead, offering emotional support after they've taken a break from cigarettes may be the best way to help them kick the habit for good.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Zurich and the University of Aberdeen, also found that offering practical help such as looking after the children and completing the weekly shop may help a person quit.
The results have been released to coincide with national No Smoking Day.
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Researchers tracked the behaviour of 100 couples with one smoker and one non-smoker to analyse the methods most likely to help a person quit.
Couples involved in the study recorded diaries of their behaviour via their mobile phones for 10 days before the smoker tried to quit and 21 days after.
This allowed researchers to analyse whether quitting success differed if the non-smoking partner provided support beforehand compared to after the quit date.
"The whole idea behind these studies was to really understand what happens on a day-to-day basis when one partner quits smoking and importantly, what the other can do to help them."
He added that support was found to be most beneficial when given after the quit date.
"This makes sense given that this was when the help was really needed," he said.
"We know that there are many things that are not helpful in stopping smoking – such as nagging or trying to control the situation.
"These results show that we should encourage the partner to offer emotional support as well as practical help like taking care of the kids. There are lots of things that partners can do to help their significant others quit."
For more advice on quitting smoking or supporting someone who wants to quit, visit the No Smoking Day website.
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15 Undeniable Facts About Smoking
FACT 1(01 of15)
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Every cigarette you smoke reduces your expected life span by 11 minutes. (credit:Jasper White via Getty Images)
FACT 2(02 of15)
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There are roughly 10 million adults who smoke cigarettes in Great Britain. (credit:Bertrand Demee via Getty Images)
FACT 3(03 of15)
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Two-thirds of smokers start before the age 18. (credit:Flying Colours Ltd via Getty Images)
FACT 4(04 of15)
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The proportion of the population who are smokers has decreased since the 1970s. A sixth of the population smoke now, in comparison to nearly half of the adult population smoking in 1974. (credit:Dražen Lovrić via Getty Images)
FACT 5(05 of15)
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More men smoke than women.In Great Britain, 22% of adult men and 19% of adult women are smokers. (credit:ONOKY - Fabrice LEROUGE via Getty Images)
FACT 6(06 of15)
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More than half (59%) of all adults report that they have never smoked. (credit:Dimitri Otis via Getty Images)
FACT 7(07 of15)
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Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds including: carbon monoxide, arsenic, formaldehyde, cyanide, benzene, toluene and acrolein. (credit:murengstockphoto via Getty Images)
FACT 8(08 of15)
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Smoking poses a huge risk to your cardiovascular system.It also steals some of your good cholesterol, increases the risk of clotting and temporarily raises your blood pressure. (credit:Jeffrey Hamilton via Getty Images)
FACT 9(09 of15)
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Immediately after you quit smoking, your lungs and other smoke-damaged organs start to repair themselves. (credit:Oko_SwanOmurphy via Getty Images)
FACT 10(10 of15)
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Smoking is England’s biggest killer. Half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their addiction. (credit:Westend61 via Getty Images)
FACT 11(11 of15)
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100,000 smokers in the UK die every year from smoking related causes. (credit:Shui Ta Shan via Getty Images)
FACT 12(12 of15)
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In 2012-13 the Government earned £12.3 billion in revenue from tobacco tax. (credit:Jasper James via Getty Images)
FACT 13(13 of15)
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Usage of electronic cigarettes has tripled in the past two years. 2.1 million adults in Great Britain now use them. (credit:diego_cervo via Getty Images)
FACT 14(14 of15)
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A report by Dr Robert West of University College London found that e-cigarette use from popular brands is expected to be at least 20 times safer (and probably considerably more so) than smoking tobacco cigarettes. (credit:mangojuicy via Getty Images)
FACT 15(15 of15)
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7.9% of smokers have kicked the habit in the past year. (credit:AdamGregor via Getty Images)