Thursday, March 13, 2014
Blog Contest!
We're hosting a blog contest until Thursday, March 27 for Kicks Butts Week! Submit your answer to "How would a smoke-free campus policy benefit you?" to hopkinskicksbutts@gmail.com for a chance to win a Chipotle gift card.
Monday, November 26, 2012
A member post on tobacco education efforts
● According to the Centre for Disease Control, among adults who smoke, 85 percent started when they were 21 or younger.
● Every day, almost 3,900 children under 18 years of age try their first cigarette. More than 950 of them will become new, regular daily smokers. Half of them will ultimately die from their habit.
Although many consider tobacco education to be
“a high-school thing”, a significant number of young people actually start
smoking in college. College students consume tobacco for a variety of reasons:
stress, weight loss, social interactions…etc. Because smoking is often precipitated
by social factors, and because college students’ social groups often revolve
around school, school-based programs are powerful in preventing young people
from having their first cigarette and in motivating those who are already
smoking quit. A University of Southern California review of more than 30 school
programs and found that they can reduce existing youth smoking by as much as 20
percent while also effectively curbing the number of young people who ever
start.
Nonetheless, it can be tricky to effectively advocate and
educate college-aged students about the harms of tobacco. After all, these are
educated and independent young people that have pre-existing personal beliefs
and can form their own opinions. Therefore, effective tobacco education programs
should be comprehensive in addressing a variety of issues:
• Education about the immediate and long-term
undesirable physiologic, cosmetic, and social consequences of tobacco use.
• Information about the reasons teens begin to
smoke, such as a desire for maturity and acceptance,
and should offer them more positive means to
achieve these same goals.
• Development of personal skills, such as
assertiveness, confidence, and problem-solving skills, that
will aid students in avoiding tobacco use as
well as other risky behaviors.
Importantly, to reinforce this educational effort, schools
should enforce policies that forbid smoking or other tobacco use by students,
staff, or visitors on campus or at school activities, and provide smokers with
cessation information and assistance. The goals of Hopkins Kicks Butts are to
educate people about the harms of tobacco use and to create a smoke-free
environment for students, faculty, and staff. Today, that mission continues.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Want to Kick the Habit?
According
to the Center for Disease Control, tobacco dependence is the most common form
of chemical addiction in the United States; naturally-occurring nicotine is
fast-acting and may be as addictive as alcohol or heroine. Tobacco dependence
is a serious, chronic condition, and quitting may involve several bouts with
relapse and withdrawal, but it can and has been done.
Though
not as effective as never smoking in the first place, cessation has been shown
to reduce a smoker’s risk of lung cancer to that of a non-smoker within fifteen
years, not to mention the reduced risks of coronary heart disease, peripheral
vascular disease, stroke and COPD. Therefore, the earlier one decides to quit,
the higher the likelihood of a favorable outcome. Fortunately, nearly 70% of
current American smokers report that they want to quit permanently, and 62.4%
of Americans aged 18-24 stopped for more than 1 day in 2010 because of their
intention to cease.
Once
the hurdle of deciding to quit has been passed, there are several routes one
can take:
- Habit breaking techniques
- Put together a list of reasons why you want to quit and place it near where you keep your cigarettes as a reminder
- Think about when and where you tend to smoke, and make plans to be somewhere else or with other people instead
- Place the contents of your ashtray in a jar, dump in a few cups of water and leave the jar alone until you are hit with a craving. “It’s really disgusting; it’ll make you never want to see a cigarette again,” according to Dr. Coral Avon, a behavioral health specialist in Miami and former smoker
- Reward yourself with small things such as a fancy dinner or visit to the spa when you overcome a craving or at other, regular intervals of time
- Gradually replace tobacco with less harmful habits, even electronic or water vapor cigarettes
- Be your own devil’s advocate: dispute your irrational urges
- Clinical support, where your physician takes time to offer advice and assistance
- Group counseling, even with family and friends
- Over-the-counter products such as nicotine patches/lozenges as well as prescription therapies including Chantix and Zyban have been proven effective
All in
all, those who commit themselves to quitting are likely to enjoy a reduced risk
of disease or premature death, and although it is more effective in those who
quit early, cessation is beneficial for smokers of all ages. Since 2002, former
smokers in the United States have outnumbered current smokers; support is
available, and breaking free of dependence is not out of reach.
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/cessation/quitting/index.htm
http://www.stop-smoking-programs.org/quitting-smoking-facts.html
http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/quit-smoking-11/surviving-without-smoke?page=3
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
HKB Member Blog- Health Effects of Tobacco Use
Health Effects of Tobacco Use
There is an abundance of detrimental health
effects of tobacco use.
Tobacco use currently leads to 20% of deaths
in the US annually, or in other words, 443,000 deaths per year.
There are many cancers, associated with
tobacco use, including cancer of the: bladder, cervix, esophagus, kidneys,
larynx, oral cavity, pancreas, pharynx, stomach, and lungs.
Tobacco use is a cause of lung cancer and
leads to approximately 80% of women’s lung cancer deaths and 90% of men’s lung
cancer deaths. Women are 13 times more likely to obtain lung cancer if smoking
tobacco, and men are 23 times more likely to do so.
Smoking also increases the risk of lung
diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis, chronic airway obstruction and leads to
one being 13 times more likely to die from chronic obstructive lung
diseases.
Tobacco use additionally harms ones
cardiovascular health, for smoking is a cause of coronary heart disease,
abdominal aortic aneurysm, and increases one’s risk of obtaining peripheral
vascular disease.
Smoking is also attributed to infertility,
and has adverse impact on young ones, including: preterm delivery, still birth,
low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome, also known as SIDS.
It is evident that there is a dearth of
health reasons why one should not smoke tobacco. Hopefully this will move
people to not start the habit, and quit if they have! Remember, HKB is on your
side!!
Source:
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
HKB Blogger: Smoke-Free Campus Initiative
There are currently at least 774
colleges and universities across the United States that have a 100% smoke-free or tobacco free campus. Surprisingly Johns Hopkins is not one of them. This major leap on college campuses is the
best method to protect students, faculty, and employees from second hand smoke
as well as encouraging those who smoke to quit. According to the 2012 Surgeon
General's Report on Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults:
·
In 2010, there were more than 20 million
students enrolled in degree-granting institutions. This does not include
faculty, staff, and visitors to campuses who are also impacted by a smoke-free
or tobacco-free campus policy.
·
Many risk factors, including tobacco use, peak
from 18-25 years of age; college attendance could be a turning point in
choosing not to use tobacco
·
24.8% of full-time college students aged 18-22
years old were current smokers in 2010.
·
The number of smokers who initiated smoking
after age 18 increased from 600,000 in 2002 to 1 million in 2010.
·
Progression from occasional to daily smoking
almost always occurs by age 26.
·
While smoking rates are higher for their peers
not enrolled in college, college students and campus policies offer a unique
opportunity to create and sustain tobacco-free living. (http://www.no-smoke.org/goingsmokefree.php?id=447)
For a university that emphasizes
and excels in public health and medicine, it simply does not make sense that
smoking is still permitted especially on a campus where most of the
undergraduate students live and study. The State of Maryland specifies that
people smoking should be 15 feet away from a building. However, Johns Hopkins
University does not indicate these laws in the student handbook or in student
life policies and there is little to no enforcement of this law on campus.
There are people smoking right outside classroom buildings, the library and on
pathways with heavy pedestrian traffic. This is harmful and unpleasant for
passerbys who do not wish to encounter second hand smoke. It is time that we
make the leap as well and promote a healthier smoke-free campus.
Want to know who else has gone smoke-free? See this list for a state by state listing of colleges and universities that have taken on the policy change.
Want to know more about going smoke-free? Come to our meeting tonight at 6pm in Mattin 160!
HKB Blogs Again!
Our HKB members are blogging! Look for bi-monthly blog posts from our members about different topics important to the tobacco prevention movement. And if you want to know more- come to our meetings! This week's meeting is tonight (9/26) at 6pm in Mattin 160. Hope to see you there!
Monday, March 23, 2009
We want your feedback!
Thank you for coming to HKB's blog dedicated to informing the Hopkins Community about our efforts to make Homewood a 100% smoke-free campus. Below, you will find posts focusing on each area of our Smoke-free Campus Proposal. Please read each section in its entirety and leave a comment with your feedback and suggestions. Keep in mind, this blog represents a proposal, which is subject to change based on feedback. We greatly appreciate comments that offer improvements and bring to light areas not already highlighted.
The mission of Hopkins Kicks Butts is to promote a healthier campus community through activism and awareness against tobacco use. The purpose of this policy is not to infringe upon anyone's rights, but to promote the well-being of the student body by reducing exposure to secondhand smoke.
Click here for a recent article in the Newsletter about our efforts.
Please note, we respect your opinions and encourage any questions or criticisms, but please keep all comments clean and polite. As representatives of JHU, all parties must be respectful. Any comments including derogatory or explicit language will not be posted. Comments in support of the proposal are also appreciated.
Thank you,
Hopkins Kicks Butts
A Center for Health Education and Wellness Group
Notice:
Because HKB is a Center for Health Education and Wellness student group, the comments must be moderated before being posted to ensure no derogatory or explicit language is used. All other comments will be posted, but it may take time for them to appear. We will update the comments regularly, but unfortunately, it cannot be instant. Please check back often to view comments. Thank you.
The mission of Hopkins Kicks Butts is to promote a healthier campus community through activism and awareness against tobacco use. The purpose of this policy is not to infringe upon anyone's rights, but to promote the well-being of the student body by reducing exposure to secondhand smoke.
Click here for a recent article in the Newsletter about our efforts.
Please note, we respect your opinions and encourage any questions or criticisms, but please keep all comments clean and polite. As representatives of JHU, all parties must be respectful. Any comments including derogatory or explicit language will not be posted. Comments in support of the proposal are also appreciated.
Thank you,
Hopkins Kicks Butts
A Center for Health Education and Wellness Group
Notice:
Because HKB is a Center for Health Education and Wellness student group, the comments must be moderated before being posted to ensure no derogatory or explicit language is used. All other comments will be posted, but it may take time for them to appear. We will update the comments regularly, but unfortunately, it cannot be instant. Please check back often to view comments. Thank you.
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Disclaimer
This blog is not meant to be a comprehensive alternative to the formal HKB Smoke-free Campus Policy Proposal. If you would like more information regarding data and research, or to request a copy of the formal proposal in its current state, please do not hesitate to contact HKB at HopkinsKicksButts@gmail.com. We are more than happy to supply you with any supporting documentation and further explainations.