Caregivers and Smoking: Looking After Yourself While Caring for Someone Else

More than 16 million Americans live with a disease caused by smoking, and for every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 live with a serious smoking-related illness. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Caring for someone with an illness or disability can mean helping with everyday tasks — bathing and dressing, paying bills, shopping, getting around — as well as giving emotional support and helping manage a chronic disease or disability. In the United States, 1 in 5 adults regularly care for a family member or friend with a health problem or disability.

The toll of caregiving

Caregiving can be hard work, emotionally and physically. The stress can lead to health problems of the caregiver's own, including trouble sleeping and changes in appetite, and to anxiety, depression and loneliness. About half of caregivers do not get enough restful, unbroken sleep, which can affect their quality of life. If you are a caregiver, looking after your own body, mind and feelings matters.

Stay physically healthy

• Don't use tobacco; if you smoke, try to quit, and keep away from other people's smoke.
• Limit alcohol.
• Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, and keep a healthy weight.
• Be physically active.
• Get enough restful sleep.
• Have regular checkups, and a flu shot every year.

Stay mentally and emotionally healthy

• Turn to family, friends, people who share your faith or a support group for emotional support.
• Stay active: regular exercise is linked to lower rates of depression.
• Make time to relax — at least 15 to 30 minutes a day for yourself, whether a nap, exercise, gardening, a hobby, a film or whatever relaxes you. Try gentle stretching or yoga, deep breaths, or simply sitting still for a minute.
• Don't give up your own life: cut back on personal activities, but don't cut them out, and look for easy ways to stay in touch with friends.
• Keep up your routine where you can. Studies show that dropping it can add to stress; you may need to do things at a different time of day or for less time, but keep doing them.
• Ask for help, to free up bigger blocks of "off-duty" time: find tasks others can do or arrange for you, such as appointments or errands.

CDC also publishes Caring for Yourself When Caring for Another, Care Plans Help Both Older Adults and Caregivers and Caregiving for Family and Friends — A Public Health Issue.

Caregivers' stories

CDC's Tips From Former Smokers campaign tells the stories of people caring for loved ones with a disease or disability caused by smoking:

• Dana S., 38, of North Carolina, started smoking as a young teenager. She helped care for her mother, Tips participant Terrie, through Terrie's smoking-related cancer.
• Debra B., of Texas, has been with her husband, Andy A., for more than 17 years. After decades of smoking he was diagnosed with throat cancer caused by smoking, and she became his main caregiver through radiation, chemotherapy and several operations.
• Denise H., 66, of Texas, never smoked, but her husband, Tips participant Brian H., smoked for years. She cared for him through his smoking-related heart disease, COPD and lung cancer, and in the end gave up her job to care for him full-time. To avoid burning out, she found ways to ease the stress, such as walks and workouts at the gym, and her advice to other caregivers is to set aside at least an hour to do what they want. Brian died in 2022, at 68, after more than 30 years of smoking-related illness.
• Stephen B., 64, of Texas, is married to Elizabeth B. When she developed peripheral artery disease, they had to give up things they loved. On days when she feels she cannot take another step, he encourages her and walks with her.

Free help to quit

• Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Help is also available in Spanish (1-855-DÉJELO-YA), Chinese (1-800-838-8917), Korean (1-800-556-5564) and Vietnamese (1-800-778-8440).
• Text QUITNOW to 333888 (message and data rates may apply), or use CDC's quitSTART app.
• Visit Smokefree.gov or the Asian Smokers' Quitline.

Words on this page from people and organisations outside the federal government are paraphrased; rewritten in hubnx's own words.

Sources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Caregivers," Tips From Former Smokers. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/groups/caregivers.html