Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The University of Kansas’ first Smokeout, scheduled for Wednesday, will encourage students to leave their cigarettes at home and graduate smoke-free.
Based on the American Cancer Society’s annual Great American Smokeout, the University’s Smokeout’s aim is to make campus tobacco-free on Wednesday.
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Smoking Facts
Smoking-related healthcare costs in America total $167 billion annually
The average smoker will spend $100,000 on cigarettes in a lifetime
Half of all smokers will die from something smoke-related
One out of every five deaths in the U.S. is attributed to tobacco products
Smoking increases the risk of at least 15 different types of cancer
The average smoker will try, unsuccessfully, to quit six times without the help of a program
—From the American Cancer Society and Watkins Memorial Health Center
Ken Sarber, health educator at the Wellness Resource Center, and two other peer health educators, will be on Wescoe Beach from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help raise awareness for the health risks associated with smoking as well as the opportunities available to help students quit smoking.
“We want students to think about if they are controlling their tobacco habit or if tobacco is controlling them,” Sarber said.
He tailored the event to the needs of students based on survey results collected on campus in November, which showed that 65 percent of smokers surveyed wanted to quit smoking before graduation.
Sarber said the emphasis on helping students conquer their nicotine addiction separated the KU Smokeout from the Great American Smokeout.
“Students need to realize that it is still possible to graduate smoke-free,” Sarber said. “We want them to know that they can quit and that Student Health Services is there to help.”
Sarber’s free smoking cessation program at SHS, called KanU Quit, has already helped 20 students successfully quit smoking since its inception in December.
The program takes six weeks to complete, making it a timely endeavor for any seniors wanting to stop smoking.
The reasons to avoid cigarettes are well known, but Sarber said most people needed more help quitting than they realized. Information about KanU Quit will be available at the smokeout table on Wescoe Beach.
Kara Boston, Shabbona, Ill., senior and peer health educator for SHS, said the table would also feature a video telling the story of a woman who contracted emphysema at the age of 23 and died eight years later.
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What: A one-on-one smoking cessation program
Cost: Free
Length: Six Weeks
Goals: Identify a smoker’s triggers and devise ways to curb nicotine cravings
Contact: Ken Sarber at the KU Smokeout table on Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., by phone at (785) 864-9573 or by email at ksarber@ku.edu.
Gary Noravong, Olathe senior and peer health educator, said the video would attach an urgent message about the risks of smoking, which could often seem far-off.
“The mindset of college students is that they’re young and they don’t think anything is going to go wrong,” Noravong said. “This could give them a little reality check.”
Students who visit the smokeout table can also enter a raffle via a short smoking habit survey. Sarber said that beginning in the fall, he would repeat the KU Smokeout four times each year to insure that all smokers on campus know the options available to help them quit.
— Edited by Nick Mangiaracina
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Comments
Smokeout focuses on smoke-free students in 2008
What about students who are aware of the risks and choose to smoke anyway? Isn't that... everyone who smokes? I don't know anyone who smokes and doesn't know the risks involved.
This is a program for grade-schoolers.
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