During the month of April, the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness is urging students, faculty and staff to participate in the 30-Day Tobacco Free Challenge, asking them to consider quitting smoking.

“At this point, we are still in the awareness phase, and urging people to think about quitting,” said Delynee Wilcox, assistant director of Health Planning and Prevention.

She said the Student Health Center works collaboratively with the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness to sponsor the challenge.

“There are not a large number of people that think about quitting smoking,” she said. “It is something that people have to put effort into thinking about. But, the ideal thing for students to do is to never start.”

The office is promoting the program through information tables at the Center Friday from noon to 2 p.m. and on Monday, also from noon to 2 p.m., in the Ferguson Center so people who are interested in participating can get brochures and pamphlets with more information.

Lauren Whitt, program manager at the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness, said she has worked very closely with faculty and staff for the campaign, and so far it has seen great success.

“We are in week two of this and have seen a lot of people pledge to take the next step in doing what they need to do to quit smoking,” Whitt said.

Whitt said a person does not have to pledge only to quit smoking, and they can work toward the method that works best for them.

“It really just depends on the person on what they pledge to do,” she said. “The overall goal is to educate them and ultimately get them to put down the pack.”

She said some people decide to go “cold turkey,” others use medication and some decide to gradually quit using the patch or gum.

“What has been most interesting about this is to see the reasons why people have decided to participate,” she said. “Some people have pledged to stop smoking because their children and grandchildren have asked them to stop.”

Whitt said because smoking is a repetitive behavior, it is a hard habit for a person to break and takes great commitment. She said a lot of students have expressed interest in the challenge.

“Some students came up to our kick-off table at the beginning of the month and got more information for their roommate, friends or significant others,” she said. “I think it is interesting how students are reaching out and helping each other in that way.”

According to Whitt, it is not required that people who are interested in this challenge start only at the beginning of April. People can still join the program and attend the seminar at the end of the month.

Another resource that is available for smokers, Wilcox said, is the Quit Line, a toll-free assistance service provided by the Alabama Department of Health.

According to Faye Royal, a tobacco prevention and control coordinator for the ADPH, the agency been offering the service for all Alabamians since 2005 and has been working with the University to get the word out on campus.

The Quit Line, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, links callers to specialists in Mississippi who work to help break nicotine addictions. The Quit Line counselors set up a counseling time that is most convenient for the caller’s schedule and call to get updates on how they are doing. The hotline also offers free patches, as long as a person is medically eligible.

“We have worked with housing as well as the health center in efforts to get flyers and brochures out on campus about this service,” she said.