Students band together on Diag to stop smoking

Several students canvassed the Diag yesterday working in unison with a big butt - a cigarette butt.

Marking the 21st annual Smoke Out, members of the University Students Against Cancer spread the word about the dangers of smoking.

"My goal today is to get at least one person not to smoke," said LSA sophomore and USAC member Andrew Schreiber. "Maybe that'll get more people to stop, and then more will."

The Smoke Out, financed by the American Cancer Society, went from 10 a.m. until around 5 p.m. USAC members handed out information about smoking and the American Cancer Society, and gave out stickers to non-smokers so they could show their unity.

"There will be a significant number of people who quit today," said Public Health Prof. Kenneth Warren. He said many smokers who choose to quit do it on days such as the Smoke Out and New Year's.

PAUL TALANIAN/Daily Pharmacy first-year student Umbreen Idrees, a member of the University Students Against Cancer, dressed as a cigarette butt yesterday on the Diag to protest smoking.

While the number of smokers who decide to quit during this period of time is larger than usual, only a relatively small percentage will succeed. According to the American Cancer Society, 70 percent of smokers in the U.S. report that they want to quit. But Warren said a mere 2 1/2 percent of smokers in the United States quit annually.

"I've thought about quitting and tried and thought and tried and thought and tried," said LSA sophomore Philip Trautmen, who has been smoking for two years. "It just didn't work out."

For those who do smoke, the risk is dangerously high. Warren said 3.5 million people die every year in smoking related deaths. By the year 2010, that number will be more than 10 million and will be the leading cause of death in all nations, he said.

"You can't force someone to quit, but if someone wants to quit, then any help is good help," Trautmen said.

As for the 46 million smokers who have quit already, the news is considerably better, especially if they had only smoked for a few years.

"For those who have only smoked two to three years, the risk approaches those who have never smoked," Warren said.

While the risk of lung cancer will never go down, the risk of heart disease will approach that of a non-smoker after three years, he added.

As for those who have smoked for a longer period of time, anyone who quits before the age of 40 will be able to repair most of the damage to their lungs. For those who quit after the age of 40, they won't get better, but the damage won't get worse.

So what is the best way to quit?

"There is no best way," Warren said. "It depends on the person. Some people can just stop and never smoke again, while other people need nicotine treatments."

Warren said nicotine treatments such as patches and gums tend to roughly double the quitting rate. But if someone enters a comprehensive program with a qualified clinician that follows up and offers nicotine therapy, the rate could climb as high as 30 percent.

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