“While programs to help students, faculty [members] and staff stop smoking have been available on campus for some time, the University is offering two sessions of the QuitSmart program this month as a means to assist current smokers who are no longer able to smoke on campus and who wish to stop smoking,” said Cathy Andreen, director of media relations in an emailed statement.
The first part of the program is called “Preparing to Quit” and lasts two hours. The second and third parts are called “Quit Date” and “A Maintenance Session,” respectively, and are an hour each. Participants receive a certificate upon completion of all three sessions.
Delynne Wilcox, assistant director of health promotion and wellness at the Student Health Center, said the connection between a smoker’s physiological makeup and nicotine is part of what can make quitting smoking so difficult.
“There’s an addiction component with smoking and nicotine, so your body has to physiologically begin to adjust to the lack of that chemical,” she said. “That’s part of the hurdle that people face with quitting.”
Another challenge for smokers attempting to quit is readjusting daily patterns to eliminate smoking. Wilcox said many smokers still associate day-to-day activities like driving a car and work breaks with smoking, even after they have given up the habit. She suggested using mints or lollipops to compensate for the oral fixation aspect of smoking and the need to occupy one’s hands, respectively.
Haileigh Hughes, a sophomore majoring in biology, does not smoke but said she has friends and relatives who have struggled with the habit.
“From someone who does not smoke but has grown up around it, I know that it is not an easy thing to quit just by watching friends and family make the attempts,” Hughes said.
According to the QuitSmart website, the program was developed by Robert Shipley in 1977. The website offers a money-back guarantee that the program will help users quit smoking.
For more information about QuitSmart visit the Student Health Center’s website.
