Fifth-year student Diane Hursh has smoked since she was 18. She was smoking a pack a day before she cut back her sophomore year. Now, she said, she is a social smoker and smokes mainly when she is out drinking with her friends.
Senior Mike Hoehn, who has been smoking since he was 16, said he is tired of cigarettes making his clothes smell.
Each of these students said they were ready to put an end to cigarette smoking and turned to the American Cancer Society's Freshstart Program for help.
The program consists of a small group meeting in four one-hour sessions. At the sessions, the material that is presented is designed to make the experience of quitting positive.
The attendants fluctuated during the sessions. At most, eight people were in attendance, but four came to the last session. The four committed to quit during Spring Break.
Darson Rhodes, co-facilitator of the smoking cessation classes for students, said research done by the American Cancer Society shows people are capable of quitting if they want to and that smoking cessation classes are 30 percent effective in helping someone quit.
This set of classes was the second of three offered this semester. Each program has a section for students and faculty, though no one has attended the faculty sessions.
Rhodes and Amanda Sapp, both graduate assistants at the Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology, facilitated the five-session Freshstart class.
The money used to fund the program, and others like it, came from a grant the university received in the fall from Smokefree Indiana.
The first session focused on why those present started smoking and why they were ready to quit. Many said they picked up the habit from friends or co-workers who smoked around them.
"You have to ask what you want more," Rhodes said. "Do you want to continue to smoke or do you want to quit? If you want to quit more, then you can."
Sapp said, "If you think you can do it, you will be able to. If you don't think you can, odds are you won't quit."
The group members offered each other suggestions on how they have quit in the past or how people they know have quit. Some recommended to chew on straws when the craving occurs or to reward oneself for not smoking.
"Smoking destroys everything," Hoehn said. "It trashes your clothes and the interior of your car."
The group also discussed what times they smoked most often. According to Rhodes, this will help them target times they should concentrate on cutting back and situations they should avoid if they are serious about quitting.
"Postponing when you're going to smoke your first cigarette is one way to cut back," Rhodes said. "Another way is to switch to a brand of cigarettes that you don't like so you are less inclined to want to smoke."
According to Rhodes, after someone has decided they want to stop, they must set a date to do so. For most people, quitting cold turkey is the most effective way, she said.
Others may gradually decrease the number of cigarettes they have in a day.
Someone might use other sources of nicotine to kick the habit, such as Nicorette gum or nicotine patches. The Freshstart program offered free Nicorette gum prescriptions to those in the classes who wanted the extra help.
During the second session, Rhodes and Sapp discussed what a smoker would experience during the first few days being smoke-free and ways an individual could cope with the stress of quitting.
According to Rhodes, withdrawal symptoms can last up to two weeks, but it only takes 72 hours for nicotine to leave the body.
"Relaxation is what's best for you as an individual," Rhodes said. "Some smokers use cigarettes as coping devices. Instead they should be assertive in getting their opinions across in a dignified way."
The third session focused on mastering obstacles that occur while staying off cigarettes, one of which is weight gain. Rhodes and Sapp suggested a healthy diet and exercise would help overcome the additional weight.
The final session gave the remaining three members of the class time to discuss how they planned on quitting and coping with the obstacles.
Rhodes cautioned the attendants that relapse can occur in times of extreme crisis or happiness, when drinking alcohol and when bored or lonely.
"Ways to avoid the vulnerable times are to change your habit or behavior," Rhodes said.
The final set of smoking-cessation classes begin April 1 in LaFollette Complex Room 205 for students from 6 to 7 p.m. and April 2 in Whitinger Building Room 152 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for faculty. The classes are free. No registration is required to come.
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