Does your elderly loved one smoke cigarettes?  If so, you should try to get them to quit as soon as possible. The American Cancer Society, Nicotine Anonymous and the American Lung Association can help you help your senior.

Here is what you can say to your elderly loved one to help them quit smoking:

• Let your senior know how important he or she is to you and your family, and that you want him or her to be around to participate in your family’s life.
• Smoking increases the risk not only of having a first stroke, but also of having another one. Smoking increases the risk of having a heart attack, as well as of developing many other health problems.
• Smoking can double one’s chance of developing macular degeneration, one of the major causes of vision loss in seniors.
• If your senior smokes, tell them that if they quit smoking they will reduce their chance of a heart attack and death from heart disease by 50 percent. The nicotine in cigarettes causes less oxygen to go to the heart, increases blood pressure and heart rate, as well as blood clotting, and damages cells that line the arteries and other blood vessels.
• In addition to increasing the risk of getting diabetes, smoking also increases a senior’s chance of developing complications from diabetes, such as retinopathy, heart disease, stroke, vascular disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, neuropathy (problems with feet), and more.
• Some studies suggest smoking has been found to greatly accelerate the rate of mental decline in Alzheimer’s patients.

Posted by: Frank Esposito, Vice President of Expert Home Care.  New Jersey’s Expert Home Care provides professional and reliable home health care and companion care for NJ elderly, helping them with their daily living activities since 1984. Please call us toll free at 800-848-2336 when you have home care related questions or need assistance for a loved one. Get a Free Home Care Assessment (a $375 value!) when you mention this post.