• Students meet weekly do discuss cravings.
• Program looks to provide accountability.
• Of adults ages 18-24, 18.9 percent smoke in the United States, according the Center of Disease Control and Prevention.
One group of students on campus is gathering each semester to try to live a healthier lifestyle and comply with the university’s smoke-free campus initiative.
The six-week program, run by the Amelia T. Wood Health Center, aims to help members quit smoking.
Of adults ages 18-24, 18.9 percent smoke in the United States, according the Center of Disease Control and Prevention.
Each week, the members talk about whether they smoked, what situations trigger them to smoke and offer support and advice.
“It’s pretty open and non-judgmental,” said Julie Sturek, a health educator and the group’s adviser. “Basically, the point of the group is having accountability with someone, but we do the pros and cons of quitting, and we have people talk about what their fears about quitting are, past quit attempts.
“I mean, everyone knows that smoking is bad, so we’re not talking down to them, we’re trying to help them and give them accountability of someone to support them in their trying to quit effort.”
According to the CDC, cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S. The national average of smokers in the U.S. is at 18.4 percent, while in Indiana, 26 percent of residents smoke.
Also according to the CDC, 68.8 percent of current adult smokers in the U.S. have said they want to quit smoking. Since 2002, the number of smokers who have quit has exceeded the number of current smokers.
In Indiana, the Medicaid fee-for-service program gives coverage to anyone who needs treatment for tobacco dependence or wants to partake in individual and group counseling.
“We’ve had many students go through the program and quit smoking,” Sturek said. “We want students here to be healthy and our campus as a whole to be healthy.”
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