My father is 91.5 years old. He has smoked for 75 years. He smokes outside and still lives at home. He is VA eligible, but the VA will not take him because he smokes. Their care homes and campuses are now smoke and vape free. Most care homes will not take him, or they will charge him a ton to take him outside to smoke 10 times a day. Any suggestions? In-home care is cost prohibitive at this point because he is almost at a point where he needs 24 hour care. Even at $15/hr that's more than he or I can afford. I am also worried that as his dementia and mobility gets worse, that he may decide to start smoking in the house -- which I have caught him doing a few times, already -- and burn it down because he can't see well, which could lead to him placing a hot cigarette someplace where it can catch the house on fire. He almost lit his deck on fire once, already. Looking for creative ways to keep him safe. I do have smart cameras, a smart lock and smart smoke/carbon detectors in the home. Thank you.
I do worry about the dementia and smoking. Try to get Dad on e-cigarettes. Also, get some cocktail straws and some large golf tees for Dad to play with, chew on and pretend smoke. Whenever he's hankering for his ciggies, make sure he drinks a glass of water first; my smoker friends have reduced/quit smoking by drinking water this way. I'm an on/off smoker. Addiction to nicotine is strong. 75 years of smoking - you've got your work cut out for you. Good luck.
Our PCP gave him a prescription for Chantix, a drug to help smokers stop. This is was when I started questioning his mental condition.
The instructions said to start taking the pills on day One (they were packaged with the number of pills you were supposed to take Day 1, Day 2, etc) and either 1) continue smoking for the first week, or 2) pick a day to stop.
Hubby decided he was going to stop smoking on Day 8, and started taking the Day 8 pills.
I called the pharmacist to make sure it wouldn't hurt him, as the pills were set up to gradually introduce the meds into his system. Our lovely pharmacist just laughed and said it might make him jittery and unable to sleep, but it wouldn't kill him. In the end, he did quit smoking.
I've watched many of my family members suffer and die from their smoking habit. Gasping for air, unable to sleep while lying down, hauling oxygen around, having surgeries to remove a lung, etc...it's awful. Their habit makes them oblivious to how they affect people around them.
I have a friend whose mom had dementia and smoked 4 packs a day. When they forced her into memory care (her dementia was well advanced and she went screaming and kicking) within a week she didn't even remember that she smoked. They had her on patches to help physically wean her down from the nicotine. I think the change in her surroundings and routine were so much for her to take in that she just completely forgot to smoke. Maybe you will get lucky and the same will happen for your dad.
I know some of the comments have been a bit harsh, but everyone's right to breathe and stay safe overrides your dads addiction to a cancer causing habit.
If it were me I would ask his dr to put him on meds and patches and then don't buy the cigarettes for him. If he doesn't have them, he can't smoke them. When he asks about them, just tell him that he quit a long time ago and then change the subject and ask him an unrelated question to derail his thinking.
Good luck with dad.
Smoking poses an increased risk to all the residents—beyond secondhand smoke.
Smoking is less safe for someone who has memory loss. It is also less safe for someone who spends a lot of time sleeping or resting in bed. When other residents are required to use oxygen, smoking could cause serious property damage or personal injury.
Understandably, evacuating a facility when residents have limited mobility is very difficult.
Elderly neighbors are at a higher risk for pneumonia and other smoking-linked diseases.
Go to a vape store & buy a kit; let dad try it and see what he thinks. It's worth a try, in my opinion and experience, as he may be willing to throw his real cigs in the trash right on the spot!! "Forbidding" him to smoke can wind up creating more problems than it solves, not to mention you'd be stripping him of one of the last pleasures he has in life.
Wishing you the best of luck finding a solution to this situation.
Helped me quit and was able to satisfy the physical holding of a smoke while doing activities long associated with having a smoke.
I turned my SM onto them and they helped her as well.
Tell him all the money he can save.
That's great and appears original--I wonder if it will work. If he feels a craving for a cigarette, could he be convinced it's really a need for exercise or food? I've never smoked, so I can't really imagine what it's like when a smoker craves a cigarette--although I recall seeing a couple of smokers desperately trying to salvage enough tobacco remaining in their discarded butts to get at least a couple extra puffs!
The tragedy is that as you know, his addiction was not his fault and it’s not his fault now.
I learned to love the odor of cigarette smoke on my dad’s clothing, and I’m sure that his smoking for years caused his death. He had actually stopped smoking about 10 years before his first heart attack, but the damage had already been done.
Have you asked a VA Counselor for suggestions? This situation can’t possibly be rare among gentlemen in his age group. In our experience, dealing with the VA can vary- some counselors are great, some not.
I hope you can find some sort of solution for him, and peace for you.
Not to mention smoking/open flames around the tanks of supplemental oxygen that many residents depend on is dangerous.
You're in a very tough situation. I hope you can find some help soon!
A senior placement specialist can help you find them. I would avoid a place for mom and others like it, they will refer you to the most expensive places, regardless of your budget. I found they didn't listen to a word I said. Go with a smaller, local business to help you.