A new option at SHS for students who want to quit smoking: Chantix® with counseling. Ask your medical provider or Betsy Foy, smoking cessation specialist, for more information.

Smoking

Tobacco use negatively impacts our physical health, as well as our mental health. This is particularly true for college students, who are already facing major health challenges such as stress. Tobacco use has also been connected to poor academic performance, high-risk drinking behavior, illicit drug use, and high-risk sexual behavior.

How does cigarette smoke affect your body?

Many toxic chemicals used to make cigarettes are released into the surrounding air when the cigarette burns. When you smoke a cigarette, you inhale nicotine as well as more than 400 chemicals being burned. Among these chemicals are mercury, lead, and arsenic, which are known as cancer-causing agents. Other lethal ingredients in cigarette smoke include ammonia, acetone, formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide.

Nicotine is an addictive component that reaches the brain within 10 seconds of an inhalation. Nicotine works like cocaine or heroin by activating the portions of the brain that control the feelings of pleasure, including the release of dopamine. Because the effect is short-lived, the person craves another cigarette.

You either smoke or you don’t. Some students smoke occasionally but do not consider themselves smokers. If you “only” smoke when you go out or study for exams, consider that even occasional nicotine use causes “pairing” in the brain. Once your brain starts pairing up events like studying with smoking or partying with smoking, it becomes harder to do one without the other. An estimated 50% of occasional smokers will go on to smoke full-time for 6-10 years.

How to recognize a problem

Some students think there is no problem with their tobacco use. Answering the following questions can help you find out if you or a loved one has a problem with tobacco:

Do you crave cigarettes?
Do you smoke without thinking about it?
Do you rationalize or justify smoking?
Do you choose friends, jobs or activities that permit you to smoke?
Do you avoid those who do not?
Do you continue using tobacco despite good reasons for quitting?

If you think that you or someone you know might have a problem with tobacco use, it is important to see a doctor or other health care provider and make a plan to quit.

Are you ready for your Quit Day?

Stop smoking the night before your chosen quit day and when you wake up the next morning, you will have an 8-hour head start to being smoke-free!
Stay active - try walking, exercising or doing other activities or hobbies.
Hydrate with lots of water and/or low-sugar fruit juices.
You are more likely to succeed with pharmaceutical therapy plus behavioral counseling.
Start or continue attending a smoking cessation class, follow a self-help plan and/or use computer resources. Call your support system or a quit line when you feel tempted.
Avoid high-risk situations where you feel the urge to smoke.
Reduce or avoid alcohol and caffeine. Why? Alcohol clouds judgment and can make it easier to relapse and smoke. Plus, alcohol may be linked to smoking for some people and it's important to break this connection.
Put the three "A's" in motion

Avoid. Certain people and places can tempt you to smoke. Stay away for now. Later on, you'll be able to cope.
Alter. Switch to soft drinks or water instead of coffee or alcohol. Use oral substitutions like sugarless gum, hard candy or sunflower seeds. Take a walk when you used to take a smoke break. Take a different route to school or work.
Active: Initiate or maintain physical activity. Try activities that involve using your hands to replace the smoking motion (i.e.: crossword puzzles, writing/journaling, playing catch, take a tennis lesson, etc.)

(Adapted from: www.tobaccofreeu.org)

Where can you go for help?

Campus Experts

Student Health Services:

Appointments with Betsy Foy, Substance Abuse Specialist. Contact betsy_foy@wustl.edu or call 314.935.7386.
Appointments with counselors in Mental Health Services. Call 314.935.6666.
Appointments with medical staff in Medical Services. Call 314.935.6666.

All services are confidential. If requested, these services can be anonymous. Inquiries for referral may be for yourself or someone else.

On-Line Resources

www.bacchusgamma.org
www.tobaccofreeu.org
The American Lung Association of Eastern Missouri offers a FREE smoking cessation program online at www.ffsonline.org
Follow real smokers as they quit smoking. http://www.maryquits.com and http://www.bobquits.com
Join others in their attempt to quit smoking, http://www.quitnet.com

How can you learn more?

Professional

Health Promotion Services provides brochures and other resources. To request a program, contact Melissa Ruwitch at 314.935.7139 or mruwitch@wustl.edu