Monday, November 3, 2008

Colleges Promoting Smoking?

When going around campus I'm sure everyone has seen someone smoking. To me it feels like the majority of people at this college smoke. I feel that by the time you're in college everyone knows that there are THOUSANDS of chemicals in cigarettes; however, they continue to smoke. There are some who say it is difficult to quit smoking, but 27% of college smokers start during their college years. Is it that college students don't understand the consequences? Or is it that they just don't care?

When being off on your own you try different types of things. Smoking is one thing that many college students test out whether its cigars, cigarettes , illegal drugs, or the new cigarettes I see people smoking, blacks. As many people may know cigarettes are a stress reliever. So if you start smoking to reduce the stress from school, before you know it you may become addicted even if you didn't mean to. Smoking is very much addictive due to the amount of chemicals found in them.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/pressreleases/2001/harvard-reports-on-college.html
"The college years are a time of transition in smoking behavior of young people because
many are experimenting with tobacco, others are starting to smoke regularly, and still others are trying to quit," said Nancy Rigotti, MD, Director of Tobacco Research and Treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.


In a recent study at Harvard University, they found that 40% of students who are placed in smoke free living do not try smoking. However, only 27% of colleges do not provide students with smoke free dormitories even if they have a smoke free policy in public areas. Also, in this study they found that 40% of colleges do not provide students with the opportunity to quit smoking by providing them with programs to help. In the study they found that since college aged are the most targeted by tobacco companies , so colleges should help to provide more opportunities to help students quit.

The following links I found help understand the different affects on tobacco and what people are being told verses the reality of the drug.

http://www.ttac.org/enews/mailer10-03/college-students.pdf
http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/nicotineinhaler/a/cigingredients.htm
http://www.thetruth.com/

7 comments:

Lori Disco said...

I agree that many people on this campus smoke cigarettes. Not only is it bad for their health but when you are walking behind them or by them you are also taking in the fumes. I find it interesting that the most common age to start smoking is in college. Therefore, colleges like Westfield State should be doing more to prevent it. Good blog!

Jon Jordan said...

I agree that smoking is not the best thing, but I'm not going to hypocrit and tell people not to smoke when I occasionally smoke cigars. I feel that if people know the effects of smoking and just don't really care or think the benefits of relieving stress outways the health risks. Good article

Daniel Willemain said...

I've experienced with smoking cig's and cigars while living on campus and i didn't see any relaxation results from it. maybe people just need a reason to smoke? not sure. I didnt know that that many people actually start smoking in college!

Lisa said...

I feel as though there are enormous amounts of people smoking nowadays, especially cigarettes. There are so many health risks that go hand in hand with smoking that leaves me wondering why it remains appealing. Second hand smoke can be almost just as bad in some cases. Good job!!

Kate said...

So true that it seems like everyone here smokes. How many times have you walked out of lammers or new hall and there are people right outside smoking. What's worse is that they won't even go the 25 feet away the school asks of them! Its strange that even knowing how bad cigarettes are for your health so many people just flat out don't care! I feel like our school should do something to help those people quit. great blog!

Kerry Arouca said...

I agree with you that a lot of people on this campus smoke. I even live with two of them and I hate it! The other day I was in the car with my roommate while she was smoking, and my hair and clothes smelt so bad of smoke after! I don't believe that college itself promotes smoking, but I believe it's a social thing for some. I hear all the time that people say they only smoke when they drink. To me that statement does not make sense at all. I found online that people that are heavier drinkers are more often to smoke than those who are not.
"Data from epidemiological studies have shown that people who drink alcohol are more likely to smoke, and the heavier the drinking pattern, the heavier the smoking," said Andrea C. King, a psychologist and associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Chicago, and first author of the study. To check out more on this look at this website: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/22865.php

In my personal opinion, I guess this makes sense because drinking heavily is a destructive behavior, so they are more likely to engage in smoking which is also a destructive behavior to the body. They obviously know the negative effects of it because we have been taught this since elementary school!

Adam said...

It is curious how so many people still smoke nowadays with all the anti smoking advertisements i see on TV. I think college students understand the consuquences of smoking, they just don't care because it takes so long for these effects to hurt you. People are not worried about how they'll feel when they are 80, but maybe they should start.