[Serious] How do you convince a loved one quit smoking?

So today I got in a short argument with my dad via text. I was as I've been doing for years, asked him to try to quit smoking given the global pandemic and all.

I wrote a heartfelt text with a link to an article I saw today about smokers and covid-19. He is dyslexic and has a hard time reading so I said I understood it might take him a bit to read the article. Thats not important and I somewhat doubt he'll read it.

My dad has also had a hard life, been addicted to other drugs before. He drank for a long time too along with the cigarette smoking. He has quit drinking and hasn't since last May, he only drinks these Busch NAs(Non-alcoholics) now because his doctor told him to given his liver condition at the time. This wasn't the first time with the doctor order to quit drinking, but he has been good on that for about a year now so Im not worried about that.

Sometimes I feel like I'm too condescending, telling him and others they can always try better, etc. I feel bad sometimes like I'm not being empathetic to him enough.

Anyways back to the texting. He asked if my brother and sister knew I sent him the text and said I shouldn't have sent it without them being on board with asking him to quit. Which is ridiculous because we've all asked him to quit for so many years. Sometimes I think his memory is just terrible.

I got frustrated and said he shouldnt need all his kids to ask him to quit and that after losing our mom years ago, the thought of losing him makes me cry faster than anything else. I was being real honest about my feelings and about how scary this whole pandemic is and I didnt want to lose him too because of his stubbornness.

He then accused me of not caring before now which pissed me off more, and I told him I've been asking him to quit for years. Again, the bad memory because we've also been through mild arguments like this before. I probably wasnt as adamant about it back then but again this virus just has me scared for him.

His birthday is this Thursday so my timing with this wasn't the best but the news just has me stressed out. I want to buy him some stuff like any cessation products, any he wants but I doubt whether he'll accept them if I offer. Plus I'm a little paranoid about buying him anything that may be contaminated with covid19 and he gets it because of me.

So say I convince him to quit. I dont want it to be a horrible experience given he lives alone. I dont want him to go crazy with boredom and fall back into it.

Do anyone have suggestions about what to say to him about quitting and things for him to do at home that will help with the withdrawal?

By the way, he also has back issues so its difficult for him to move around sometimes so suggesting exercise isnt the most conducive thing for him. As a health nut myself I know it would help but it pretty much falls on death ears when suggesting it to him.

Thanks in advance and I'm sorry for the long read.

/r/AskReddit Thread