Students get ready to quit

Health center helps people to kick their butts

By Deborah
The Metropolitan

Smokers trying to kick the habit for the ăGreat American Smokeoutä on Nov. 20 got a little help from the Auraria Student Health Center.

Health Center employees passed out survival kits and presented a
ăCalling it Quitsä workshop as part of the annual Smokeout.

The event is sponsored by the American Cancer Society. The health center also offers counseling and discount-priced Nicorette gum.

Attitude is everything, said Linda Wilkins-Pierce, a counselor at the health center who taught the workshop.

ăPeople trying to quit have to believe in their ability to be successful,ä she said. ăThey need to identify themselves as a non-smoker, not as a smoker who is trying to quit.

ăThe Student Health Center offers ongoing individual support. We show them that they have coping skills they may not know they have. They can get through a class or an 8-hour workday without a cigarette. We can help them identify how they do it.

ăA pack-a-day smoker puts their fingers to their lips 200 times a day,ä said Wilkins-Pierce, who is writing a booklet of success stories. ăIt is important to be aware of these powerful habits in oTim Batt/The Metropolitanrder to overcome them.ä

Quitting requires defeating not only the psychological and chemical addictions but also behavior patterns.

ăOh, God, itâs hard!ä Metro student Jessica Robbins said. ăIt takes a lot of work.ä

Robbins, a senior English major, said she smoked her last cigarette six weeks ago. She credits the nicotine patch prescribed by her doctor, as well as her personal resolve.

ăIâm under so much stress right now, I canât believe Iâm still doing as well as I am,ä she said. ăWhen Iâve tried to quit cold turkey, Iâd get really irritable, and that would make me go right back to the cigarettes. The patch helps a lot.ä

It was cold turkey or nothing for Metro freshman Clint Bingham, who quit his pack-and-a-half-a-day habit. On his 19th birthday, he tossed out his cigarettes and didnât look back.

ăI think anybody who tells themselves, ÎIâll just finish this pack, and then Iâll quit,â or uses a nicotine patch, is just fooling themselves,ä he said. ăMy fiancee smokes, and it would be real easy to start again, but itâs not something I want to do.ä

Most smokers start as teens, Wilkins-Pierce said.
 

ăGenerally, if they havenât started by the time theyâre 18 or 19, they wonât,ä she said. ăMany of those who are ready to quit are those approaching graduation. They donât want to carry the habit into their new careers.ä
 

Tips for kicking the habit

Ready:
đNotice when and why you smoke and change your routines. When you want a cigarette, wait a few minutes.
đBuy one pack at a time.

Set:
đThrow away your cigarettes, hide your ashtrays.
đClean and deodorize your house and car.

Quit:
đDrink lots of liquids, but avoid caffeine.
đChew on something such as carrots, gum, hard candy or straws.
đExercise for energy and to keep your mind off smoking.
đTo reduce cravings, eat high-alkaline foods, such as: apples, carrots, potatoes and avoid acid producing foods, like: bread, rice, eggs.  (The Student Health Center can give you a list.)
đSit in non-smoking sections of public places.
đKeep a pen in your free hand when youâre on the phone.
đAvoid fatigue and hunger.  Reward yourself at the end of the day.

Staying quit:
đPut the cigarette money youâre saving in a jar on the table.
đIf you slip, donât be discouraged. Others have slipped and succeeded.
đGive yourself credit for each small success.

Sources: The National Cancer Institute,  the American Cancer Society; Linda Wilkins-Pierce, Auraria Student Health Center
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