Great American Smoke Out a day for smokers to quit

Sophomore Allan Henderson digs through his bag for his cigarettes while sitting on the steps of Ballantine Hall. With 10 minutes to spare before class, Henderson makes time for one last smoke. He began smoking after he graduated from high school and now smokes daily.\nToday's Great American Smokeout, provides smokers such as Henderson a reason to quit smoking. The campaign gives smokers who want to quit one day to refrain from smoking. More smokers have kicked the habit on this day than any other day of the year, according to the American Cancer Society's Web site.\nIU has put up billboards for the Great American Smokeout, but it does not get more involved because of the bad timing of the event, said Anne Reese, director of health and wellness education at the Health Center. Because the day is near the end of the semester, the added stress of deadlines and exams and thoughts of Thanksgiving break deter thoughts of quitting, she said.\nTwenty-six percent of IU students smoke regularly, according to UCCS/Office of Measurement Services Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, conducted in 1998. Reese said the percentage of smokers on campus appears to be even larger because smokers have been forced to smoke outside of IU buildings where the public can see them.\nReese said she believes smokers have the perception that there is a high amount of other cigarette smokers on campus and that makes them hold onto the habit.\nYoung white women are the fastest growing group of smokers, Reese said. Reese attributed this to the growing number of females with weight issues. Female smokers use smoking as a form of weight control and are not quitting because of their fear of weight gain. Reese also said most smokers constantly think about smoking.\n"The action is habitual. If I weren't smoking, I would probably eat and gain weight," sophomore Jennifer Little said.\nReese said she is most concerned with this group because of the large amount of new smokers and the small number of quitters.\nSophomore Lona Chandler falls into this category. Chandler started smoking in seventh grade because she wanted to fit in with her friends.\n"Smoking became a habit. I've tried to quit four or five times, but it doesn't usually work out to my benefit," Chandler said. "The one day that I do realize that it is actually hurting me I will quit. I just don't think about its effects now."\nReese said college men visit her more often in their attempt to quit. She said she believes this is because of the interference of smoking with exercising.\nHenderson, like many other college-age smokers, said he does not plan to smoke for the rest of his life and plans on quitting as soon as he is able to. Henderson has tried twice to stop, but neither time was successful.\n"I quit for four weeks when I was 18, almost 19, but I started again because I had nothing to do on the drive home from IU," Henderson said.\nReese acknowledged how hard it can be for students to quit, but she said their health will improve if they do.\n"They need to move to the next step, which is quitting," she said. "Quitting smoking is the biggest thing a person will ever do for their health"