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My Mom is a smoker and that is totally up to her. I know she will not be able to quit, nor do I ask that she quit. However, she wants me to go to the store for her to purchase the cigs. I told her I will do this for her this one time but when the time comes around for her to get another carton, I will take her to the store and she can walk in. She has always made me get her cigarettes when I was younger and I vowed to not do that again. She can, albeit slower, walk into the store and get them herself. She should be running out quite quickly here, so let's see how this rolls. I do not want to argue with her at all, but if she wants them she can get them herself.

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I am totally against smoking but at her age, let her do what she wants. She could fall and break a hip going into the store and you would feel guilty of that too right? Just buy them and let her go the way she wants to, it is an awful addiction but we all have something like food, drinking, gambling, etc . good luck
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my alz class teacher said her mother died of lung cancer, never smoked.. juss sayin..
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@ brandywine, compromise is nearly an art form. you cant dispense a smoke at a time and ensure the safe usage? no i just think non smokers are self ritious..
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I would most definitely not buy her an cigarettes. If she has any mental decline at all, she might burn the house down. It is fire after all.
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i have one more reply to this. at the alz class tuesday we were told that alz / dementia patients were terminal. if they want to live on cookies and ice cream it is ok. ( they are terminal ) cigarettes seem to be a similar comfort situation to me. as far as buying them for mom one has to ask " has she ever done anything for me ? " im guessing a lifetime of doing for you. as a nonsmoker you still have faults and if mom wanted to she could pick you apart.
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In my family the older generation smoked,My grand parents , my father and mother, skipped me and two of my kids smoke. Habits start some where and the addiction creeps in.Some grow cancers some do not some have strokes or heart attacks. Yet with all of us smokers and non-smokers we all die eventually. I guess we need to see the smokers as those trapped in a behavior that is hard to change and can kill them. Many of the people writing about their family members addictions to cigarettes expect the older family member to do as they are told(how can I make my Parent do....)We cannot, the best we can do is help them if they want the help.Many Nursing homes and A.l. have rules in place for smoking, If you have a family member at home ,you can use these guide lines to keep your loved one safe and you can monitor their smoking just like the do elsewhere.
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Frustrated3 -
Whatever you decide to do, you have my blessing FWIW. Life is complicated. I don't judge your mother for smoking (Not much anyway) and I don't judge you for being driven crazy by it. Good luck.
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I have such mixed emotions on this. Mom lived with me for over 8 years (I moved into her house after dad died) and she will be 88 in a few months, has smoked almost 70 years. She smoked in the kitchen or outside and I was constantly sick with bronchitis, etc... Last August she went to a nursing home after many falls. We didn't tell her there was a smoking room. Found out she smuggled cigarettes and a lighter in there and one of the aides told her about the room. She couldn't go there alone due to poor vision and not following the rules of asking for help when she needed to. They took her 2-3 times a day and I took her when I was there. It got to be a hassle, so we all decided on ecigarettes and it's the best thing we did for her. We slowly introduced them to her and she also smoked real ones. Now she doesn't smoke real ones, even when she goes outside with me where she can smoke. She can use the e-cigarettes in her room. There are several aides that know how to charge them. I buy liquid nicotine and they refill the cartridge things and I buy a very low strength of nicotine.

For her it's perfect, she has a cute pink purse she keeps them in, she can use them anytime she is nervous or anxious. She has a very nervous personality, she takes the cap off and takes two puffs and puts it away. She is using the same tiny bottle of fluid I bought in March, so I know she doesn't smoke much.

Her former doctor said she would never quit and let her smoke, but it's an issue getting her all the way up to the smoking room and she can't go when she wants. We are all very happy about this, I know she will never quit.

I feel for you, I used to buy mom's cigarettes, because she couldn't see to pay for them, she doesn't drive and walking/balance has been an issue for a few years.
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This is a conditional situation. Addictions are addictions. Some are legal, some are annoying, some are a form of a less-dangerous self-medication. We cannot control another's addictions, only our own. When I find myself becoming dependent on something--like Little Debbie Peanut Butter Bars--God Help me--I stop buying them and drink more Chardonnay. Lol
I quit smoking over 25 years ago before I had my daughter, as I did not think it would be a good example for her. Besides, I sing so the two do not mix, although I remember it was great for keeping my weight down. Negative nutrition!
If your Mother is not interested in being healthy, and if it is one of her few indulgences, then I think she should participate in obtaining them. You know, the thrill of the hunt?
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I wonder if it would be possible to force her to cut down on her smoking, say, dole out five cigarettes a day for her.
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As with children, you choose your battles. While I empathize with the pain your mother's smoking caused you as a child (and continues to cause you as an adult), by sticking to your childhood vow, you may be cutting your nose to spite your face. If her nicotine deprivation is going to negatively impact you, then I'd just buy them.
In fact, I'd absolutely do a little 'tit for tat' with them. Is there any other battle you're waging with mom's behaviors? As a former smoker (21 years and counting) I can tell you cigarettes would be an effective bargaining chip.
Start with something like "Mom, you should know how much your smoking has always hurt me and how much it would pain me to actually buy the cigarettes that destroy your health. But, I am willing to do it for you because I know you don't want to give them up. All I ask is that you...."
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Until recently I aways made my mom go inside the store & purchase them herself. I didn't want to live with the guilt of helping her kill herself. She doesn't drive and can't walk very far, so I would take her. She has cut down to only 2-3 cigarettes a day, but really it is too late. Her lungs are in bad shape. She does not want to quit the last little bit of control she has in her life. She also has alzheimers. She lives with my husband & me, and we hand her a cigarette & lighter and she goes outside on our porch to smoke. My husband & I are both non-smokers, but we do buy her cigarettes when she is out. Quiting at this point isn't going to improve her health. As long as it is not indoors. She has tried the ecigarettes but didn't use them for long.
I still wish she would quit, but she won't. I want her to be happy in her final time with us, and if 2-3 cigarettes a day is all it takes then so be it.
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No. If Mother can do it herself, don't do it for her. (Not just cigarettes, anything.)
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My mother stopped smoking when we had children. She never smoked around them. She began smoking again and says it calms her down. She is old, has no hip and can barely get around. She can only smoke outside in a designated area so there is no second-hand smoke for anyone. It makes her happy and nothing else in the world does. Don't judge based upon medical evidence. We all know the medical evidence. I buy her the cigarettes and she enjoys them.
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How about second hand smoke and the health issues that brings. Your mum lives with you according to your profile. I have not permitted anyone to smoke in my house for years because of the effects of second hand smoke. I agree it is her choice if she wants to smoke, but it is your choice if you buy them or not and it being your house, it is your choice to permit - or not - smoking in your house and expose yourself to the damage it can cause. Opening the windows etc. does not help. Check out the facts - here are some from WebMD.

"A 2006 surgeon general's report confirmed that secondhand smoking (also called involuntary or passive smoking) can kill, and it concluded that there is no amount of exposure to secondhand smoke that is safe. The more secondhand smoke you breathe in, the more your health risks increase.

Here are a few statistics on the effects of secondhand smoke exposure:
126 million nonsmoking Americans are exposed to secondhand smoke at home and work.
Secondhand smoke exposure causes nearly 50,000 deaths in adult nonsmokers in the U.S. each year.
Nonsmokers increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20% to 30% and heart disease by 25% to 30% when they are exposed to secondhand smoke.
About 3,000 deaths from lung disease in nonsmokers each year are caused by secondhand smoke exposure.
An estimated 46,000 nonsmokers who live with smokers die each year from heart disease.
Between 150,000 and 300,000 children under the age of 18 months get respiratory infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) from secondhand smoke; 7,500 to 15,000 of them must be hospitalized.
More than 40% of children who visit the emergency room for severe asthma attacks live with smokers.

Secondhand smoke can have a number of serious health effects on nonsmokers, particularly cancer and heart disease."

Again, it seems that the bias is not in favour of the health of the caregiver. In my view, the health of the caregiver is primary. I agree with choosing your battles, keeping your charge as happy as you can, but not at the expense of your own health. There are options - the e-cigarette is one of them. And people can quit. I am speaking as an ex smoker from several lifetimes ago. Two of my children smoked - one well into his 40's and they both have quit. My ex and my father quit in their 50's. It can be done. and there are health benefits to the one who does and their families. Please look after you. I know this is not an easy problem.((((((hugs)))))
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Absolutely not. My Mom smoked for 50 years and ended up with lung and brain cancer. Buying and or smoking cigs states you endorse cancer. Period.
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If my mother smoked, I would buy her cigarettes. She doesn't smoke, but I do buy her a couple of other things that I know she shouldn't use so much (laxatives, sugar-free cookies that she eats too many of). Buying them is easier than the unhappiness and anger that would come from not buying them. My mother is a bit of a bully, so she can make life very unpleasant if she doesn't get her way. I choose my battles.
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if your mom wants unhealthy food would you give it to her? life is a terminal condition is all im sayin.. your task is to make her safe, comfortable, and happy. if she gets to jonesing for nicotene she aint going to be very happy..
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Jeannie said a mouthful. If you can switch your mom to the new ecigarettes, that's ideal, and maybe if you won't get her anything else, it's worth a try. In the end, smoking is a powerful addiction and if she's not willing to get support to quit, she'll find a way. A substitute like the ecigarette may be your answer. If it doesn't work now while she can still get her own cigarettes, it may work later when she can't.

Not only do adult children of smokers have to make this decision., but children of elders with other addictions do, too. Alcohol and drugs are used widely by the elders we are caring for. A dilemma such as yours is being faced daily by countless caregivers. Please keep in touch on this forum and discuss it. You and others can keep brainstorming.
Carol
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If enforcing this principle makes you feel better, perhaps more in-charge, or like you are making a statement of beliefs, then go for it, at least as long as Mom can walk into the store under her own power. You are entitled to do some things for you own benefit ... lord knows you do tons of things for her benefit.

But really, the end result is that she is going to smoke. Does it matter who stood at the checkout counter? Not to me.

My Mom smokes. My sisters who did her shopping for her bought her cigarettes for years and years. Now the family has a better solution -- e-cigarettes. Mom now has dementia and the safety considerations of her handling matches, and the burn holes in her carpet and the chair sits in all day were scary. It took several days for her to get used to them but she is perfectly content with the new-fangled smokes.
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