Should I take cigarettes away from my mother, who has Alzheimer's, for fear she'll start a fire?
Smokers with Alzheimer's are a real challenge because, with advancing age, they're already at a point when there are a lot of things they can no longer do. A caregiver always needs to be aware of that. The goal is to help your mother maintain as much of her independence as possible. Still, that has its limits.
When someone has Alzheimer's or another type of dementia, the top priorities become safety and health. You don't want your mom to set the house on fire. (Likewise, you don't want her to develop cancer, although a lifelong smoking habit has, of course, already contributed to that possibility.)
What you can do is take the cigarettes away when you're not with your mother. I'd let her smoke at other times, but only when someone else is with her. Don't make cigarettes available otherwise. And if she can't drive, she can't buy another pack easily -- or maybe at all.
I'd also look into information about smoking cessation, even at her age. A nicotine patch is often successful. If your mom has early dementia, she might benefit from a cessation program through a local hospital. With advanced dementia, it's hard for her to understand why smoking is a health issue or why she should stop. For elderly longtime smokers, the risk of cancer will already be there regardless of whether they quit; you have to consider whether smoking is a quality-of-life habit for them. Some dementia patients even forget that they ever smoked.
This is a good answer. Her safety is a concern. As someone who works in smoking cessation, talk with her health care providers. Nicotine replacement is one option, but Rx's such as Chantix, are also available. If she has mild dementia, a call to 1-800-QuitNow is helpful for over the phone counseling. Several sessions can be provided. If dementia is profound, this wont help. A combination of these approaches is the most successful, according to research. Regarding NRT, a combination patch and gum or lozenge is most successful.
It is a dreadful problem. My elderly mother, age 92.5, smokes a pack a day. She has dementia which is progressing. Smoking is her only pleasure in life and I fear that removing her cigarettes will hasten her decline and her death. Her doctors have all said at this point it's not realistic to expect her to quit. I also expect that she would pester her caregiver constantly for cigarettes. Now she hoards them, and carries a pack around, one in each pocket of her pants. It's the most difficult situation I have ever faced with her and there is no easy solution. I worry about her smoking constantly. While in the hospital last year she was given nicotine patches and yet she asked for cigarettes the entire stay in the hospital and refused to accept that they were not allowed. She is beyond giving up smoking and I cannot get through to her or reason with her in any way. I am about to move her from an assisted living facility which has a smoking patio to a smaller situation, a board and care, where she will be visible at all times while she smokes outside in the back yard. I will suggest that they take her cigarettes away from her at bedtime and othewise keep an eye on her throughout each day.
Having moved my mom from assisted living to a board and care, she has become agitated, angry because she doesn't have physical possession of a carton of cigarettes, and has spent the bulk of each day outside smoking, almost non stop. Her cigarettes are taken from her at bedtime; still, she smokes at least 25 cigarettes a day. She asks for a pack for each pocket, but the caregiver has refused that; she is given only one pack at a time. Her dementia is beyond mild; it is advanced but not extreme. She is able to dress and feed herself. I believe her to have vascular dementia. Would you suggest what type of specialist would specifically deal with management of smoking, with nicotine replacement therapy. Would her neurologist be the most appropriate? She already takes 20 mg. of Lexapro and 10 mg. of Aricept. She sleeps pretty well through the night but her waking hours are all about smoking. It's become a huge concern. Thanks.
THE SMOKING ARTICLE WAS VERY GOOD INFORMATION, MY MOM IS A SMOKER AND I AM ALWAYS WATCHING HER JUST IN CASE.
I've posted here earlier when my 92 year old mom was smoking up to 2 packs a day. She was prescribed Seroquel to deal with her combative behavior and it worked. She continues on that medication, along with Lexapro and Aricept, and she is a wide awake but mellow and complaint resident now. The problem has miraculously resolved itself with the help of some very skilled caregivers. I had to move my mother to a Memory Unit in an Assisted Living Facility. They agreed that she could have 4 cigarettes per day under their supervision. They made an exception for her. For the first several months she asked repeatedly all day long for a cigarette. They patiently distracted her by redirecting her attention or promising a cigarette after dinner, whatever. It didn't stop her begging for a smoke over and over but now, at age 94 and with advancing dementia, she has almost forgotten that she's a smoker. She never asks me about cigarettes or if she mentions them I too have learned to distract her. She continues to ask for a smoke after dinner, before bedtime, and I believe that evening caregivers will usually allow her one cigarette which satisfies her. I'm looking for the day soon when she will be smoking no cigarettes ever. The progressing dementia seems to have taken care of the smoking problem and she's a childlike but happy 94 year old at this point in time. I might add that the idea of a smoking cessation program seems like a futile approach when dealing with an elderly smoker who suffers from dementia. Why put yourself through the expense and frustration?
I also worry about the smoking issue with my Mom, 72 and mid plus alz. She lives with me and I work. Taking the smokes away, she will try walk to a store. I now put out a pack at a time to limit her sometimes chain smoking. when she thinks she is low on cigs she smokes less. The less she smokes, i am hoping the less she wants to, or forgets she does. I have an alarm system set up in the house, that also has a fire alarm notification in place.
Mom is 97 with severe deminchia and most of the time if the smokes aren't around she forgets about them, thank God. i had to take them from her cause her sight is so bad, she was missing the ahhtray and burning the furnature. i worried about withdrawl but she goes for days and does not seem to bother her,
