No Smoke November

Students who may be looking to quit smoking have many options to explore to help them do so.

    "With November 18 being the Great American Smoke Out day here in the U.S., it makes November the month many people try to quit their habit of smoking," said Brown House Nurse Abby Provost.

 However, even with the Great American Smoke Out in effect throughout November, there were still smoking problems found here on campus.

    "People may not be telling the truth when they come to the Brown House and are asked about whether or not they are smokers," Provost said. "The majority of them say that they don't and that quitting smoking isn't really the reason why they are coming in."

    However, Provost doesn't see smoking to be a huge issue on campus.

    "Not many people come in for reasons such as smoking and I can't personally tell if they are or not," she said.  

    Provost said that the Brown House does not offer many available options for students who are looking to quit smoking. Students who do go in to quit are referred to Rose Harper at the free service offered at Northern Vermont Regional Hospital. Once there they are given free stop -smoking devices such as Nicorette gum and Patches.

    "Smoking is one of the worst things a person can do to his or her body," Provost said. "Smoking not only has proven to be dangerous to one's own health, but it also has much to do with one's own job security as it may shorten life expectancy greatly."

She added that smoking causes heart disease and lung cancer by building up plaque in one's body. She says that she feels very strongly about the topic not smoking, as it has proven to cause more deaths per year than any other factor here in the United States.

    There are no legal limitations given to the Brown House about the services they can offer to students who come to ask questions about not smoking; however, they would rather send the students to the hospital where they can receive free devices to help them quit.  They are also directed to the "Quit Hotline."   

    Some stop-smoking tips that Provost can give to students are cutting back on how much they smoke, and doing things like going for walks or other activities to take your mind off of the cravings. Provost also said that the cost factor of cigarettes should also catch the attention of smokers who are considering quitting.

    "Many people in the Northeast Kingdom smoke for several reasons, but the most common reasons I have found come from the peer pressure of friends," said Provost.

    She also believes parents are influential in their kids smoking or not smoking.

    "Parents who smoke are also making it seem like it's OK to smoke because they too are heavy smokers and have been since they were 14 or 15 years old," she said.

    Receptionist Paula Chamberlin says that she can definitely tell when someone is a smoker when they come to the Brown House.

"There are definitely less and less people coming into the Brown House all the time who I can tell are smokers. It has really turned in the right direction from where we were at ten years ago, when there were tons of people smoking," Chamberlin said. "I notice smoking here on campus but not even close to how bad it has been in the past."

 This further proves that the news about smoking being harmful for one's health may finally be getting to people.

"We direct those who have smoking issues to NVRH most of the time," said Chamberlin. "People are taking classes, stop-smoking devices and other ways of quitting smoking for free nowadays."

"As smoking is still found at LSC, and many students know that it is bad for them, they still rarely go to the Brown House to get help," Chamberlin said. "Non-Smoking issues are definitely not the common reasons why people come here."

LSC student Shayne Kirby says that he sees smoking on campus commonly.

"People smoke out in front of the new building here at LSC all the time. I see at least 4 – 5 people smoking outside every day," Kirby said. "They aren't smoking anything illegal, but they are definitely smoking cigarettes a lot."

    Kirby is not affected by the amount of smoking that he sees on campus.

 "It's not really my problem that the students are smoking a lot. It's not my lungs that are going to be destroyed and suffocated in the long run," he said.