The University of New Mexico became a tobacco-free campus on Saturday, Aug. 1 2009. The new policy includes not only cigarettes, but smokeless tobacco as well, and has been fully implemented for the return of students and faculty for the fall semester. The primary reason behind the tobacco-free initiative is to have a healthy environment for people to work and students to learn.
For Mand
ie Sload, college and nicotine go hand in hand. A 20-year-old student at The University of New Mexico, Sload never smoked in high school. She doesn’t smoke much over the summers but as soon as a new semester starts, she is back to four or five cigarettes a day. What is it about college life that lures her to smoke? Stress? Peer pressure? Smoking is an addiction. Tobacco contains nicotine, a drug that is addictive. Once you start smoking, it is very hard, but not impossible to quit. Until recently, I think smoking on college campuses was largely ignored. Alcohol is such a major issue in college that smoking takes a back seat. In the last few years, however, smoking has become a hot topic. One of the reasons for this increased importance is the recognition that the college years are crucial in making or breaking an addiction.
As a college student, I have seen first hand the prevalence of smoking. All across our campus, college students are lighting up at an alarming rate. In a campus survey I conducted of 15 college students in March 2010, eight students said they were current smokers. I surveyed eight males and seven females. My survey included 18 questions revealing gender, age, class, familial history of smoking, frequency of smoking, desire to quit, methods used to quit, awareness of hazards, etc. I surveyed several of my classmates in class, a few sorority sisters in our suite, and random students at the SUB.
Fifty-three percent of the individuals I surveyed smoke. Sixty-two percent of the students who smoke consider themselves “social smokers.” Eighty-seven percent of the smokers have tried to quit. The students who have tried to quit have used the cold turkey method and intake reduction by decreasing the number of cigarettes smoked in a week.
Many of the students I interviewed reported the average age they tried their first cigarette was 15. Not surprisingly, I found that smoking is higher among students who have “a strong party orientation.” College students who are binge drinkers admit “I only smoke when I drink.” On the bright side, many of the cigarette smokers I interviewed said they do not smoke every day, indicating they are only casual users. My research did not show any relationship in smoking and age, sex, ethnicity, familial history, etc. Most of the college smokers I surveyed are not heavy smokers. Several of the smokers I talked to said they did not smoke daily, while others reported that they smoked every day but did not smoke more than one pack per day. Half of the college smokers I surveyed and interviewed reported they had tried to quit in the previous year, and several of them had made four or more attempts at kicking the addiction.
Many smokers, like Sload, take their first puffs in college. Other students experiment with cigarettes in high school but start smoking heavily in college. Everyone I surveyed and interviewed is aware that smoking is responsible for the deaths of many people every y
ear. They know it increases the risk of heart attack and stroke and adversely affects breathing and the lungs. And like smokers of any age, many college students are actively trying to quit. Mandie Sload knows that four or five cigarettes a day are four or five too many. She plans to quit some day. She understands that if she quits her breath will smell better; she will taste and smell food better; her cough will go away; she will save money; she will reduce secondhand smoke for others; and she will reduce her risk of lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, lung disease, and respiratory illnesses.
We need to save lives. We need to have a unified anti-smoking approach. Colleges must find ways to curb tobacco use among students and try to get them to quit. What is the best way to get college students to quit smoking? A multi-faceted approach including high cigarette taxes; heavy-hitting anti-smoking ads; and a total ban on smoking in public places; increased access to programs that help smokers quit; and pharmaceutical treatments for nicotine dependence. At UNM, as well as other college campuses, all buildings should go completely smoke-free, banning smoking from dorm rooms and common living areas. Such measures would protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke and reduce the visibility of smoking on campus. I am sure that high cigarette taxes and anti-smoking campaigns will not be enough to get college students to stop smoking, but it is a start in the right direction.
My suspicions about smoking proved correct. College students are putting themselves at risk of a lifelong addiction to nicotine. They are playing with fire! Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of many life-threatening diseases. Despite campaigns encouraging young people not to take up smoking, my findings indicate that more and more college students are currently smoking. Substantial numbers of students are both starting to smoke regularly and trying to stop. Increased efforts by national health organizations to reduce smoking should be extended to college students.
For Mand
ie Sload, college and nicotine go hand in hand. A 20-year-old student at The University of New Mexico, Sload never smoked in high school. She doesn’t smoke much over the summers but as soon as a new semester starts, she is back to four or five cigarettes a day. What is it about college life that lures her to smoke? Stress? Peer pressure? Smoking is an addiction. Tobacco contains nicotine, a drug that is addictive. Once you start smoking, it is very hard, but not impossible to quit. Until recently, I think smoking on college campuses was largely ignored. Alcohol is such a major issue in college that smoking takes a back seat. In the last few years, however, smoking has become a hot topic. One of the reasons for this increased importance is the recognition that the college years are crucial in making or breaking an addiction.As a college student, I have seen first hand the prevalence of smoking. All across our campus, college students are lighting up at an alarming rate. In a campus survey I conducted of 15 college students in March 2010, eight students said they were current smokers. I surveyed eight males and seven females. My survey included 18 questions revealing gender, age, class, familial history of smoking, frequency of smoking, desire to quit, methods used to quit, awareness of hazards, etc. I surveyed several of my classmates in class, a few sorority sisters in our suite, and random students at the SUB.
Fifty-three percent of the individuals I surveyed smoke. Sixty-two percent of the students who smoke consider themselves “social smokers.” Eighty-seven percent of the smokers have tried to quit. The students who have tried to quit have used the cold turkey method and intake reduction by decreasing the number of cigarettes smoked in a week.
Many of the students I interviewed reported the average age they tried their first cigarette was 15. Not surprisingly, I found that smoking is higher among students who have “a strong party orientation.” College students who are binge drinkers admit “I only smoke when I drink.” On the bright side, many of the cigarette smokers I interviewed said they do not smoke every day, indicating they are only casual users. My research did not show any relationship in smoking and age, sex, ethnicity, familial history, etc. Most of the college smokers I surveyed are not heavy smokers. Several of the smokers I talked to said they did not smoke daily, while others reported that they smoked every day but did not smoke more than one pack per day. Half of the college smokers I surveyed and interviewed reported they had tried to quit in the previous year, and several of them had made four or more attempts at kicking the addiction.
Many smokers, like Sload, take their first puffs in college. Other students experiment with cigarettes in high school but start smoking heavily in college. Everyone I surveyed and interviewed is aware that smoking is responsible for the deaths of many people every y
ear. They know it increases the risk of heart attack and stroke and adversely affects breathing and the lungs. And like smokers of any age, many college students are actively trying to quit. Mandie Sload knows that four or five cigarettes a day are four or five too many. She plans to quit some day. She understands that if she quits her breath will smell better; she will taste and smell food better; her cough will go away; she will save money; she will reduce secondhand smoke for others; and she will reduce her risk of lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, lung disease, and respiratory illnesses.We need to save lives. We need to have a unified anti-smoking approach. Colleges must find ways to curb tobacco use among students and try to get them to quit. What is the best way to get college students to quit smoking? A multi-faceted approach including high cigarette taxes; heavy-hitting anti-smoking ads; and a total ban on smoking in public places; increased access to programs that help smokers quit; and pharmaceutical treatments for nicotine dependence. At UNM, as well as other college campuses, all buildings should go completely smoke-free, banning smoking from dorm rooms and common living areas. Such measures would protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke and reduce the visibility of smoking on campus. I am sure that high cigarette taxes and anti-smoking campaigns will not be enough to get college students to stop smoking, but it is a start in the right direction.
My suspicions about smoking proved correct. College students are putting themselves at risk of a lifelong addiction to nicotine. They are playing with fire! Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of many life-threatening diseases. Despite campaigns encouraging young people not to take up smoking, my findings indicate that more and more college students are currently smoking. Substantial numbers of students are both starting to smoke regularly and trying to stop. Increased efforts by national health organizations to reduce smoking should be extended to college students.
This was my first year at UNM and my last year as a smoker.
ReplyDeleteI flagrantly ignored the policy during the first few months of my residency on campus. I walked to class smoking, rode my bike around campus smoking, and sat wherever I felt like...smoking. There were no repercussions for this disobedient action. Not a single person said a word about my cigarette cloud.
I did end up frequenting my dormitory's smoking area for morning and late night cigarettes, however. The anti-smoking policy seemed to have an interesting effect on the 'partiers' living on campus. People who smoke almost inevitably have other vices. The University's decision to group them together in smoking areas encouraged the formation of a social network of drug users, underage drinkers, and gamblers to form on campus.
I suppose the policy had a beneficial effect on me, then. When continually confronted with 'my kind', I decided it was probably better to simply quit my habit all together to avoid stigmatization.