NO to smoking

[Thunderchild]

where can I go to get alarming info on smoking to send to someone to induce them to pack up. I think this is only occasional as she is depressed at university. unfortunately being in another country does not help me and sending some shoking facts is the only thing I can think of. please also tell where I can get info on what is the maximum quantity of alcohol that it is reasonable to consume at one time as I think this a more reasonable alternative.

[yinyang]

Unfortunately you'll probably not be able to tell her anything she doesn't already know. The dangers of smoking are well known and if your friend is at Uni she's obviously not a stupid girl but she's made her choice - to smoke.
Sounds like she needs a friend more than a health lecture at the moment.Maybe if she realises how much people care about her then she'll feel like she has a reason to quit.
As to the drinking. Off the top of my head I think 2 units a day is the recommended amount for women but again if she's feeling low and is prone to an addictive personality I don't think starting drinking would neccesarily be better for her. I know it hurts to see someone you love being self destructive but ultimately everybody is responsible for their own destiny.All we can do is be there to support them.I wish you both all the best.

[Thunderchild]

well i am trying to be as close as possible and caring. i think it was a one off thing but i want her to understand i disasaprove and shake her a bit.

[Thunderchild]

by the way what does two units mean

[seanywal]

Sending shocking facts doesnt work. I am an ex-smoker and all shcoking facts did to me was make me feel neavous and un-easy and what smokers do when the feel like that is light up a fag.

I am afraid nothing anyone can say will make someone quit smoking, it is a decsion that has to be made by that person. A book I recomend that you send her is ALLEN CARRS EASY WAY TO QUIT SMOKING.

I know the title sounds cheesy but it is a very well recognised book and it explains the addiction of smoking in a logical and unpatronising way.

A unit of alcohol is a classification givin to the amount of alcohol in a certain amount of liquid for example a can of lager can hold up to 2.5 units of alcohol. I do recomend that she doesnt start drinking as a substitute because she will just end up doing both. Hope this has helped good luck.

[yinyang]

A unit is very basically a breakdown of the amount of alcohol a drink contains. For example an average 125ml glass of wine contains 1.5 units. it used to be given as a safe weekly limit but they've changed to a daily limit to tackle the problem of binge drinking. Look at 'drinkingandyou.com' for more info.

[Thunderchild]

to put it plain how many ml is a unit. wine hear in italy is average 11 % so 1 litre of wine contains 110 ml of alcohol

[yinyang]

If you drink a 125ml glass of wine you have consumed 1.5 units of alcohol. therefore 1 or 2 small glasses of wine a day a probably ok.
Also try 'drinkaware.co.uk'
Most bottles or cans also tell you how many units is in that particular drink.

[saffyj]

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<TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">get a life, stop trying to police someone else.unless they specifically ask for your help or give signals to you they want to stop.health promotion can only start with the person whos being targeted and with their say-so.you sound like some friend!</TD></TR>
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[KRUSTY]

If this 'someone' is already depressed wouldn't your shock tactics actually be detrimental at this time? I know smoking is bad but replacing it with alcohol doesn't seem too good an idea either. Surely it is better to help her with her depression first before tackling another problem?

[stoo_pid]

Two words - cognitive disonance. In other words your mate already knows of the dangers of smoking - everybody does - she just doesn't believe it will affect her (particularly as even you don't consider her a regular smoker).

3 things to think about:

1. It's her life. If she wants to smoke, she has every right to do so.


2. She's at University. Assuming she's not a mature student, she will be going through many changes as she 'finds herself' & develops into a young woman who can think for herself, smoking, drinking & god-knows-what-else may or may not be a part of that.


3. If you start trying decide what your friend can & can't do, however honourable you may feel your intentions are, I'm afraid there is a very strong chance she'll go ahead & do the very things you don't like...

One final point, perhaps the most important of all - believe me, encouraging someone to drink alcohol every time they're depressed has many more dangers than the odd puff every now & again.

Personally I would be more concerned that my friend was depressed than whether she was a smoker & would do whatever I could to support her.

[Thunderchild]

in a way your all right but being 2000 miles away and never seeing her don't help to be supportive especially as we only comunicate via e-mail that she accesses at uni library. so you go figure how helpless i feel. I nkow she has more sense than this