November 2016-Stony Brook Promotes Great American Smokeout
As the Great American Smokeout looms on Thursday, Stony Brook University’s tobacco-free policy, and the campus-wide campaign “An Air of Respect,” are already making a positive impact on the campus community.
On Sunday, Nov. 13, Stony Brook’s Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC) hosted a tobacco cleanup effort outside the University’s Frank Melville, Jr. Memorial Library. Student volunteers collected and weighed a total of 2.1 pounds of tobacco-related waste, including cigarette butts.
In November 2015, volunteers collected 14 pounds of waste. And in April 2016, the cleanup event yielded 5.75 pounds of waste. The data implies that Stony Brook’s tobacco-free policy is helping to gradually reduce the use of tobacco products on campus.
During the Great American Smokeout on Thursday, we will continue to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking, and the resources we have available to help.
Stop by our table outside the Market Place Café on Thursday from 11 AM to 2 PM, and let us help you, or someone you care about, commit to quit. If you’re trying to quit, we will connect you to the resources and support we offer. If you’ve already quit, please come to offer motivation, tips and support to those who are trying.
At the event, you can get a voucher for a free, 30-minute smoking cessation counseling session with April Plank, DPN, Co-Director of the Center for Lung Cancer Screening and Prevention. And you can enter to win a free “cold turkey” – just in time for Thanksgiving. Just turn in a pack of cigarettes and make a commitment to quit, and you’ll be entered to win.
To make the challenge even more fun, you can take a selfie inside a frame that says “Commit to Quit Smoking!” to share on social media with the hashtag #SBSmokeout. That way, you can engage the support of your friends and encourage others as you embark on your quest.
At the university, Bryan Weiss, Director of Healthier U, will be in the Administration Building lobby to promote the tobacco-free policy, discuss smoking cessation resources and give out promotional items.
Recent statistics indicate that smoking continues to decrease across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that smoking rates have fallen from 21 percent of the adult population in 2005 to 15 percent in 2015. The rate fell by 1.7 percentage points between 2014 and 2015 alone.
Quitting smoking may not be easy, but you don’t have to do it alone. With support from Stony Brook, you can live a smoke-free life. The choice can be life changing, because the health benefits of quitting begin almost immediately. And so do the financial benefits.
Stony Brook has a vital interest in maintaining a respectful, safe, healthy and clean community for all students, employees and visitors. In an effort to embrace such values, the University is committed to providing an environment that is tobacco free and free from secondhand smoke.
Visit www.stonybrook.edu/tobaccofree to learn more about Stony Brook’s policy, and to find resources available to students, faculty and staff who want to stop using tobacco.
We look forward to seeing you on Nov. 17.
