The Health and Wellness Center is trying to help those who smoke, quit.
On Wednesday, Nov. 17 the Health and Wellness Center hosted, “The Great American Smoke Out” with two tables set up in the Student Center at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Earlier this year I quit [smoking] for about 2 months,” said David Bell. Bell said that the reason he started smoking again is, “Because I’m not very bright.”
Bell said that he was in the hospital early this year and they don’t allow smoking in hospitals, so he had to quit while he was in there. Shortly after he got out of the hospital Bell started smoking again.
In the two hours the tables were set up, they had about 50 to 60 smokers come to get information about quitting smoking. Not all of the students wanted to quit right then and there, but some still came and got information for possibly later down the road. A lot of these smokers do smoke because they are stressed, so they were pleased to find out that the Health and Wellness Center could help with the stress.
“We are giving away brochures, quit kits and worry stones,” student helper Trevor Nicolas said. “They [the students visiting the booth] are loving it. They really like the worry stones.”
If a smoker is interested in quitting, they can go to the Health and Wellness Center and set up an appointment to stop smoking. The appointments are free for SLCC students.
“The first interview is to see where they are at,” said Program Manager Tatiana Burton. “To see whether or not they want to quit, whether or not they are thinking about it, how far they are in, have they started [the quit], and whether or not it’s working. They go through an eight-week program. We go through the different methods. If they want to quit ‘cold turkey’ then we will work with them with that.”
They were offering free advice about how to quit smoking and even how to quit using drugs.
The Health and Wellness Center was handing out quit kits that included straws, gum and Jolly Ranchers. The reasons why they put these things in the quit kits is to keep the smokers mouth busy so they are less likely to pick up a cigarette.
Some students believe that they forgot one thing in the quit kit, a Tootsie Pop. They believe that the Health and Wellness Center should have put a Tootsie Pop in the quit kit because it’s the exact same motion as smoking a cigarette.
Free pamphlets were given out discussing the many ways to quit smoking with lots of tips, advice and instructions.
The Lung Association of America has locations all over Utah. They can help those students who have loved ones who need to help quit smoking. For more information about the Lung Association of America call 801-484-4456.
The Health and Wellness center is trying really hard to get smokers at SLCC to follow the rules concerning smoking on campus. The rule currently states, “There is no smoking inside of any Salt Lake Community College Buildings, there is no smoking within 25 feet of all Salt Lake Community College building entrances, and it’s illegal for any person under the age of 19 to possess tobacco on Salt Lake Community College campus.”
The Health and Wellness Center holds events like “The Great American Smoke Out” once a month. In October they had one for drinking and will be doing free HIV testing on Dec. 1 at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus and on Dec. 2 at the South City Campus. For more information about quitting smoking or about the Health and Wellness Center visit them in the basement of the Student Center, or call 801- 957-4268.