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Your role as a sponsor
- Listen to your partner, offer encouragement and support during difficult moments.
- Show your partner that you are confident he/she can succeed in taking up the Challenge.
- Remind your partner about his/her motivations for quitting smoking if determination wavers.
- Remain patient and understanding during your partner’s mood shifts and moments of impatience.
- Learn about smoking cessation. Visit the "
I quit
" section on the QuitChallenge.ca website.
To help your partner
- Recognize your partner’s efforts with congratulatory messages. Whether by phone, email, text messaging or in person, the encouragement will help him/her to stay in the fight.
- Encourage your partner to be physically active, to relax and to think of things other than smoking.
Why not propose an outing together (a walk, hockey, a movie, restaurant, etc.)?
- Suggest that your partner share his/her experience with the on-line community at QuitChallenge.ca.
- If your partner lives with smokers, encourage him/her to ask them to smoke outside. Living in a smoke-free environment increases the chances to succeed in quitting smoking and diminishes the risk of relapse. For more information, visit TakeYourButtOutside.ca.
- If your partner is using a pharmacological aid to quit smoking, remind him/her to follow the treatment as prescribed and to ask a doctor or pharmacist should any questions arise.
What to do in case of relapse?
- Avoid judging your partner. In general, it takes more than one attempt to quit smoking for good.
- Remind your partner that it’s possible to lose one round without losing the fight.
Encourage him/her to try again when ready.
- Invite your partner to reflect on the reasons for the relapse, in order to be better prepared for next time.
- Keep in mind that it is YOUR PARTNER’S motivation that counts. Don’t push too much.
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