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University Health Services Helping Students "Kick the Habit"

By Ellen Nagy, Marketing Manager, University Health Services

It's a new year and new semester - how about a "new you"? Many smokers have already decided that 2004 is the year to quit. You are invited to sign-up this month for the Quit and Win Challenge to be held during February on University Park campus. Since stopping smoking can be so difficult, extra help may be needed to kick the smoking habit. The Quit and Win Challenge offers smokers a lot of support, including advice from other students who have successfully quit smoking

The Quit and Win Challenge is just one of several programs University Health Services offers through the Office of Health Promotion and Education. UHS knows that quitting the habit is not easy, so they try to provide as much support as possible. The statistics on people who start smoking or using other tobacco products at a young age are dramatic. The sooner young smokers can quit, the better. For more information about tobacco use, visit the UHS health information page on alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

Students who wish to quit smoking should sign-up from January 12 - 31. On-line registration is available on the UHS Web site.

Penn State recently began a public education campaign on campus which includes posters and ads addressing five aspects of smoking: tobacco industry advertising towards youth, tobacco industry advertising toward women and people of color, tobacco smoke pollution, chemical ingredients of cigarettes, and the health effects of smoking on women and on men. The goals of this campaign are to encourage students who smoke or use other tobacco products to stop or reduce the amount they use, and to prevent other students from becoming addicted to tobacco. The campaign was developed by the UHS Office of Health Promotion and Education and a student group, Penn State Students for Tobacco Awareness, funded by the PA Department of Health, and designed by Heather Reese in Penn State's University Publications.