MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL —Starting today, more than 200 University of Minnesota Twin Cities students, staff and faculty who consider themselves regular tobacco users have pledged to quit for the entire month of November. Those who succeed are vying for one of three grand prizes—$2,000, $1,000 or $500 in Amazon gift cards.
Sponsored by the University’s Boynton Health Service, ‘Quit and Win’ is an incentive-based cessation program that not only offers prizes, but free Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), counseling, resources and support to stay tobacco free.
“Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States,” said Ferdinand Schlapper, Boynton’s director and chief health officer. “There is no safe level of usage for a tobacco product.”
Additionally, there is a link between tobacco use and student success.
“Smokers tend to have lower GPAs,” says David Golden, Boynton’s director of public health and communications. “One of the most important decisions you can make now is to stop smoking. That’s why we’re focusing our efforts to reduce tobacco use across campus.”
For some people smoking just one or two cigarettes can lead to addiction, said Boynton’s Director of Research Dr. Katherine Lust.
“That’s how addictive tobacco is,” she noted. “‘Quit and Win’ provides an opportunity for people to make a quit attempt. And, the more quit attempts you make, the likelihood increases you’ll stay quit.”
Participants must also designate a tobacco-free friend to help them stay on track.
“For some people having that social support is very important, so when they feel like they want to start using they can lean on somebody for help,” Lust added.
According to Boynton’s 2013 College Student Health Survey, 53 percent of University students report exposure to second-hand smoke on campus, and 14.9 percent of students report using tobacco in the past 30 days—down from 22 percent in 2005.
In 1998, 53.3 percent of first-year students were current tobacco users. Now that percentage is 13.2 percent.
Several factors have influenced the decrease in overall tobacco usage, according to Golden: the increased price of tobacco; health education; and the increase in smoke-free policies.
“Restrictive policies that limit where people can smoke have probably made the biggest impact on behavior change by changing the social norms around smoking,” he adds. “In addition to changing the cultural norm, you are protecting people from the harms of second-hand smoke and reducing the convenience for a quick smoke, which lowers consumption rates.”
The 2013 survey also indicates 18–24 year olds report the highest tobacco-use rates—with 20 percent of males using tobacco in the past 30 days, compared to 11.5 percent of females. In addition, 65 percent of 30-day tobacco users have tried to quit—making four attempts on average in the past year.
“What that says to me is people do want to quit,” Lust said.
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200+ University students, staff and faculty nix tobacco in November,
