Legal Ways to Stop a Husband From In-Home Smoking

While the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke are well-known, it is not possible to legally prohibit a spouse from smoking in your home. The home is your husband's personal residence also, and he has the right to partake in a perfectly legal activity. There are different methods you can use to encourage him to stop smoking in the house, but it is not possible to file a lawsuit or injunction to force him to do so. If you specified the smoking issue in a prenuptial agreement, officials could cite him for violating the agreement. Sans pre-nup, however, you and your husband need to sit down and have serious discussions about how his habit can seriously affect the health of the family. If these discussions don't do the trick, there are several other methods you can use to get him to smoke outside.

Reading Materials

• Find pamphlets, brochures and magazine articles dealing with the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke. Lay these reading materials on the coffee table in front of the television or somewhere where your husband is sure to see them. This is a nonverbal, indirect way for you to remind him of the dangers he is exposing his family to when he smokes in the house.

Smoking Area

• Prepare a place just outside the home, like the porch, where your husband can go to smoke. Make sure the area has a chair, shelter from the weather, and something entertaining that your husband enjoys, a radio for example. If you are proactive and set up a comfortable place for your husband to go smoke, he is much more likely to use it. He will see how important an issue this is for you and make it a point to try to use this "special" area when he smokes.

Family Motivation

• A smoker's family can an effective motivator for him to change his behavior. You should subtly remind your husband that secondhand smoke is more dangerous to you and your children than his habit is to himself. Walk out of the house and take the kids out to play when he is smoking inside. Your husband will start to notice that his family is not around when he smokes. This gives him time to think about how his habit is creating a gulf between himself and his family.

Seeking Assistance

• Smoking is one of the most difficult habits to completely break away from. Even if your husband wants to quit smoking in the house or quit altogether, he may need some serious help. Patches, nicotine-free cigarettes and other self-help products can create a structured plan for his nonsmoking endeavor. But many smokers who use these products relapse back into their old behavior. If this occurs, support groups, doctors and hypnotherapists can provide more permanent results for your husband's habit. They provide medical personnel and incentive-rich programs to encourage "staying the course" during the process of quitting smoking.

Rewards and Gratitude

• If your husband consistently uses his smoking area or significantly cuts the amount of tobacco he smokes, you need to thank him for his efforts and consideration. Be sincere in your gratitude and encouraging to his behavior. It is very difficult to quit smoking, and positive reinforcement does a lot to promote his efforts. Avoid nagging, giving ultimatums or guilt trips. These are not encouraging behaviors and may actually illicit the opposite effect that you want.