Jonathan Kermiet says students need to be much more aware about the dangers of tobacco use.
Lucky for the Olin Health Center health educator, Monday kicks off Tobacco Awareness Week. The university has several events planned.
“I think students are pretty aware of some of the issues, but there’s certain things about tobacco addiction people don’t know,” he said.
Olin health educators and other volunteers will make their way around campus Sunday afternoon, outlining areas around campus buildings they consider to be a reasonable distance away from structures. This, many hope, will keep smokers from lighting up close to buildings.
And comedian Bill Ross will be on campus Monday, giving an 8 p.m. performance at the Union Ballroom titled, “Last Call: A Sobering Look at Alcohol Abuse.” His show will also focus on tobacco use.
Kermiet said he hopes the events help students realize nicotine is addictive, even in limited amounts.
“Students think that because their use may be on a limited basis, they won’t get addicted to it,” he said. “They think they can smoke now and quit later. They don’t realize that nicotine is extremely addictive.”
After receiving the results of the National College Health Assessment Survey, Jasmine Greenamyer, an Olin health educator and director of the alcohol, tobacco and other drugs program, said it was evident Olin needs to address smoking attitudes.
The survey was conducted earlier this year, and revealed many of the 733 MSU students questioned over-estimated cigarette usage on campus.
While only 29.4 percent reported smoking in the month prior to the survey, 79.4 percent of the respondents believed at least half of their fellow students smoked. Greenamyer said the numbers of actual use didn’t surprise her, but student perceptions about tobacco use did.
“The numbers don’t alarm me so much. We’re right up there with the national average. If our numbers were higher, I’d be more worried,” she said. “I’m more alarmed at the gap between students’ perceptions and the reality.”
Greenamyer is hoping the best way to change perceptions about the number of people who smoke is to actually lower the numbers.
And that’s where Olin’s SmokeStoppers program, “One-Day-at-a-Time,” comes in to play. The program is offered through Healthy U, a faculty- and staff-oriented health center at MSU. Greenamyer said that is what makes the program different.
“One-Day-at-a-Time” is a monthlong program. It begins with five days of preparing smokers to quit and it continues for 16 days to help people deal with withdrawal symptoms.
It is a self-driven program, with Web support available with customized information, known as a daily action plan, highlighting steps that work best. Registration is free.
For more information on Healthy U, call 353-2596.
