want girlfriend to stop smoking Posted: 01-14-08 15:28pm
My girlfriend is 27 years-old. (I am 29.)
She has never smoked (cigarettes) in her
life, but her mother has always smoked. I
was a casual/on & off/social smoker when I
met her just over a year ago, but took our
relationship as a good excuse to quit. I
told her that and stopped smoking all
together, aside from once when I came over
on a stressed-out night and told her I'd
smoked a cigarette with a friend. She
said I stunk and made a disgusted face.
About 6 months later, she confessed to me
that she'd been smoking for the past 2
weeks. I tried to be cool about it, but
felt really wierd about her doing it
behind my back. I told her and began to
smoke with her. For whatever reason, it
bothered me less if I smoked, too (even
though I knew it wasn't the "right" thing
to do). We both smoked for 1-2 months and
finally I told her I wanted her to stop
smoking and go to therapy before we moved
in together. She initially acted as
though she was excited (she's wanted to
move-in together for a long time and I've
been ambivalent). However, she later
cried to me and told her how crappy it
felt to "not be accepted as (she) is" and
to "have conditions put on her". So, I
backed-off, but we both quit smoking
together. She said she would go to
therapy, but "in her time".
About 4 months has passed since then and I
came to realize (through smelling her
breath) that she was smoking again. I was
pissed about the lack of communication
(again), in particular and was vocal about
it. I told her I wanted her to quit. She
said no and suggested it wasn't an issue.
She was "just having 1 every once in a
while". She says, "why can't I just smoke
for a while? I don't understand why it
has to be such a big deal." Somehow, it
totally bothers me (smelling it on her
breath; seeing her volunteer herself for a
major addiction; making this part of her
life, which I didn't sign-up for). She
also shared with me that she never wanted
to smoke in her life until the night I
came home early in our relationship
smelling like cigarettes. She said she
felt "shut-out" and I find myself feeling
that way with her smoking, too.
I've told her this round that I don't want
to start smoking around her. She didn't
buy any until I did one night after we had
a fight (it was like I was getting back at
her in an immature way! I was tired of
being the strong one!). She bought a pack
the following night and has started
smoking every day since. Now, she's
smoking daily and says it's related to her
job stress. I'm working really hard to
not start again, too, but I find that it
eases my frustration when I do it with
her. (At least I don't smell it on her so
much when I do!)
So, we're still talking about moving-in
together. I don't want her smoking to
become a power struggle, because I know
I'll loose. I'm wondering if it's
appropriate of me to say something like,
"So, I realize that with your smoking,
things are really tough and stressful at
work. I'm thinking that it's not the best
timing for us to move in together." What
do people think of that? The second part
(and what I'd really like to say) is, "I'm
having too much of a hard-time watching
you take-on a major, health-harming habit
without doing the work to look at
yourself, learn about your triggers, and
find another way to deal with them. I
can't control what you do, but I can
control how I relate to what you're doing
and I'm not comfortable with us moving-in
together with this going on." What do
people think!??? Thanks for your help!
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