Tobacco users kick habit for day

By Kelsey Aakre

Mirror Guest Writer
December 7, 2007

The Great American Smokeout provides a national support system for people who want to quit their tobacco habits.

November 15, 2007, marked the 31st annual Great American Smokeout, which occurs every third Thursday in November and is sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

“The American Cancer Society encourages all Americans to stop using tobacco for a day,” said American Cancer Society Media Relations State Manager Charlotte Hofer.

“It’s hard to count the number of college students who quit because of the Great American Smokeout, but we hope to reach as many smokers on campus as possible,” senior president of Augustana’s Colleges Against Cancer capter Brittany Sheeler said.

Smoking on Augustana’s campus has gone down. In 1999, 16.9 percent of students smoked three or more times per week. In 2005, 10 percent of Augustana students smoked three or more times per week, according to Augustana’s Core Survey.

Augustana students are below the state and national averages, which are 17.3 and 21.2 percent respectively.

“People around the country use the Great American Smokeout to launch their personal quit smoking program,” Hofer said. “If you quit for a day, you can quit for a lifetime.”

The Great American Smokeout not only aims at helping people drop their tobacco habits, but it also educates the public about the harms of tobacco, Hofer said.

According to Sheeler, Augustana’s chapter of Colleges Against Cancer supports the American Cancer Society’s mission of eliminating cancer as a major health problem by initiating American Cancer Society programs in college communities.

“Augustana’s Colleges Against Cancer chapter works closely with the local American Cancer Society office to acquire supplies and support to promote the Great American Smokeout and the effort to help smokers quit for one day to quit for a lifetime,” Sheeler said.

“One of the areas we’re focusing on this fall is tobacco prevention and cessation, and we’re centering our efforts around the Great American Smokeout,” Sheeler said. “We plan to share information about the effects of tobacco use, the benefits of quitting and the resources available to help current smokers kick the habit.”

The Great American Smokeout provides a launching pad for people to begin their new, healthier, tobacco-free lifestyle with the comfort of knowing people around the country are quitting with them.

“Research shows smokers are most successful in kicking the habit when they have support, such as nicotine replacement products, counseling, prescription medicine to lessen cravings, guidebooks and encouragement,” Sheeler said.

Quitting tobacco has immediate as well as long term benefits.

“After 20 minutes of smoking, blood pressure drops to levels close to what you had before the cigarette and body temperature returns to normal,” Hofer said.

Up to nine months after quitting smoking, a person will notice improved circulation, increase in lung functions, decrease in fatigue and less coughing and congestion.

After one year of being smoke-free, a smoker’s risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half, and after 15 years, the risk is equivalent to that of a nonsmoker, according to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report.

“The health benefits for those who quit begin literally minutes after smoking that last cigarette, and clearing the air benefits non-smokers as well,” Hofer said. “Thirty minutes of breathing secondhand smoke affects a person in the same way as if that person had smoked one cigarette.”

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medicine Association reported 45.7 percent of college-age students used tobacco in the past year and one-third currently use tobacco.

The American Cancer Society and Colleges Against Cancer provide many tips and support groups for quitting. The information can be found at www.cancer.org or by calling 1-800-ACS-2345.