The Smoking Nazi: How I'm forcing my parents to quit

It's been an issue all my life - and the reason I never wanted to go near a cigarette; hell, I didn't even want to be friends with anyone that smoked, and it's still an issue: my parents and their smoking habits.

Like any of you with loved ones that smoke, you know that for the most part, your encouragement goes nowhere but a fight, and there's always a reason for them to go back to something they love wasting their money on - well I'm putting my foot down, and drawing lines in the sand. At 28 years old, I've given them an ultimatum - quit smoking, or (when they come along) risk not ever seeing your grandchildren. I know, it's dramatic, but sometimes drama is what works, especially when you're completely serious about it.

Yeah...not happening

I figure this advance notice, along with some public shaming on my blog (like this post!), and some encouragement (I'll get to that later), should be as good an effort as I can give in the fight against watching my parents die young.

I lived with it all my life - I remember being the child in the car with my grandmother, while she smoked - having to crack a window because I didn't want to breathe the blue air (luckily, that's pretty illegal these days), and having to stand upwind when outdoors with my parents. My mom and step-dad have always been pretty good in going outside to smoke (they have never smoked inside their house, not even in the dead of winter), and I commend them for it, but it's not a perfect solution. They still smell like an ash tray when they come inside, they go to the dentist in shame, I can hear them coughing up what reminds me of this scene from 'Jason goes to Hell' (sort of NSFW), and well - they're killing themselves.

So - my three pronged attack starts now.

1. Threats. Like I mentioned, these are more of a "heads up" to my parents that something I know they care about, will never happen for them, if they don't quit now. They will never have the chance to touch their grandchildren, if they're still smoking. It will be very hard for me should this happen, but I'm hoping that it'll be worth it, if I can tack on a few more good years in the end for everyone.
2. Public Shaming. I'll continue to update people on their progress, via facebook tags, and blogs, and even let everyone know when they fail, or slip a bit (which they will). Just this morning when I tried to ration them on three real cigarettes a day, my step-dad Keith (who insists he only smokes because my mom does) had TWO, yeah...as Rick James says - it's a hell of a drug
3. Encouragement/Routine: What made me start this in the first place was me stopping into the convenience store and talking to the guy about these new disposable e-cigarettes. They are nicotine free and last as long as 2 packs of regular cigarettes, and the beauty is that you still get to go to the store to buy them, and throw them away when you're done. My belief (and my mother's apparently) is that it's all about routine - and the less you have to change, the better. I told her to go outside when she smokes the "fake" one - just to keep the experience authentic. 

I also set her up with some of her resources through her Shepell•fgi EAP as a Bell employee, that will help her stay educated on smoking cessation - and the processes her body will go through as she quits. It sounds silly, but at least if you know something is coming, it's not so annoying when it does. **Note - you can see these resources whether you have access to Shepell's EAP or not here**

So here we are, and here we go...it's going to be hard for them, and fun for me - but in the end, healthy for all of us. Wish them luck, and let me know if you have any tips.