Great American Smokeout promotes quitting smoking

Today marks the 29th annual Great American Smokeout, a public awareness campaign sponsored by the American Cancer Society to promote an end to cigarette addiction, a consistent health problem for IU students and Indiana residents.\n"We cannot continue to lose 27 Hoosiers every day to the burden that tobacco places on our communities," said Karla Sneegas, executive director of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation program. \nIn 2004, Indiana had the fifth-highest smoking rate in the nation, according to statistics from the Kaiser Permanente Insurance Firm.\nWhile the reasons for student smoking are as myriad and diverse as the student population itself, most agree that a social basis is the background for picking up the habit.\n"It's entirely social," said sophomore Colin O'Connor. "Everyone goes outside to smoke. Why be left behind?"\nO'Connor's method for quitting is what he refers to as "dropping down."\n"I smoked four cigarettes today," he explained. "Tomorrow, I'll smoke three. I hope to quit in about three weeks."\nSometimes unusual circumstances lead to smoking, as in the case of junior Paxton Suggs. \n"I started smoking in the Army," Suggs said. "Everyone in the Army smokes. When I left, I continued to smoke."\nThe fact that cigarettes are extremely addictive is, of course, common knowledge and almost all students who are smokers agree that quitting is the paramount goal.\n"I do plan on quitting," Suggs said.\nFreshman Tom Wright has his own presumption concerning the arguably insidious tactics used by tobacco corporations to increase nicotine intake and addiction rates.\n"They use fiberglass in the filters of menthol cigarettes," he insists. "The fiberglass scratches the back of the throat, ensuring that more nicotine is delivered to the system. The menthol flavor covers up the discomfort of the process."\nMost smokers agree that cigarette smoking has a tendency to relieve stress, which is a major reason for continuing the habit.\nSurprisingly enough, IU researchers have reported findings that quitting smoking can actually do a better job of relieving that same stress, said Jon Macy, project director of the IU Smoking Survey in the psychology department.\n"You'd think that when you take the smoking away, it would increase stress," Macy said. "We didn't find this to be the case. In fact, stress levels of people who quit were the same as those who had never smoked." \nIncluded with the findings of the survey, which followed high school students from the 1980s, were the results that even unsuccessful attempts to quit did not directly affect stress levels. \n"Most people don't successfully quit on their first try," Macy said. "On average, it takes eight to 11 attempts to quit."\nIndividuals can register for free "Clearing the Air" classes from 6 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the Bloomington Hospital. The four-week program provides facts to guide people from thinking about quitting to achieving their goal through education, therapy and the offer of free nicotine replacement aids.