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.

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