National 'Smokeout' encourages quitting

LSA sophomore Steve Sharpe doesn't usually wear stickers on his chest inviting people to kiss him.

But in honor of American Cancer Society's national "Smokeout" day, Sharpe wore a sticker yesterday featuring a frog that stated "Kiss Me! I Don't Smoke!"

The stickers were distributed on the Diag by members of University Students Against Cancer in honor of the day devoted to encouraging smokers to quit.

"The stickers are not just cute, they serve a purpose to remind people of the harms of smoking," Sharpe said.

In addition to stickers, USAC members distributed pamphlets with facts about smoking and incentives to quit.

KIMITSU YOGACHI/Daily LSA junior Stacy Dover, LSA first-year student Kristin Ritter and LSA senior Himani Patel out on the Diag yesterday for the Great American Smokeout Day.

Business junior Anna Spencer, a USAC member, said the day is supposed to encourage smokers to quit - one day at a time.

"A lot of smokers say, 'I'll quit tomorrow,'" Spencer said. "We're here to tell them that there is no other option but to quit today. You cannot put that off."

The idea for the Smokeout was initiated in 1971 when Arthur Mulvaney created an event in Randolph, Mass. where he asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund.

Five years later, the event spread to schools and businesses across the nation.

Matthew Kantor, project coordinator of the Washtenaw County area chapter of the American Cancer Society, said a 1998 study conducted by the ACS concluded that Smokeout is an effective tool in helping smokers to quit.

He said that 19 percent of the country's smokers reported they had participated in the 1998 Smokeout. Of the 19 percent, 10 percent said they had quit or smoked significantly less during the week after the Smokeout.

"This day is a time to make a pledge to yourself," Kantor said. "This first day is a foundation for building many days after."

According to the American Cancer Society's Website, an estimated 48 million adults in the United States smoke. The Website also states that diseases caused by tobacco is responsible for nearly one in every five deaths.

LSA first-year student Kristin Rittler said she wanted to help coordinate USAC's booth on the Diag because her father has lung cancer.

"I want college students to know that smoking is truly going to affect them and their families down the line," she said. "I see no positive benefits from smoking."

Rittler said her father started smoking while he was in the sixth grade.

"My dad did not know the dangers of smoking when he started," she said. "I don't even understand why people still smoke today. They know the dangers. It makes me very frustrated."

According to the Website, 90 percent of new smokers are under the age of 18. The Website also states that active smoking is the largest cause of preventable death in the United States.

Spencer said many students are listening to the warnings.

"One guy came by and said he wanted some literature for his girlfriend that smokes," Spencer said. "And one of the frat boys on the Diag came over and said he wanted a sticker because he quit smoking eight weeks ago."

11-19-99