Tobacco kills about 443,000 people a year, making it the leading cause of premature and preventable death in the U.S.
Over the past 40 years, tobacco use has reduced dramatically, but in recent years the decline has stalled – about 20.6 percent of adults and 19.5 percent of high school students smoke cigarettes today.
GW wants to help its students, faculty and staff kick the habit. The university has launched “Be a Quitter!” – a smoking cessation campaign, which will run throughout 2011. The campaign provides resources and counseling to help support GW community members who are trying to quit smoking.
“The George Washington University is committed to making our institution a healthy place to learn, live and work for our students,” said Louis Lemieux, chief human resources officer.
The campaign provides both free and reduced-cost smoking cessation programs, a website with tips for how to cut the habit and a hotline (202-994-QUIT) to call for information on counseling and other resources.
The Student Health Service can help students set a realistic quit date, prepare to quit and use nicotine replacement therapy if needed. Individual and group counseling are available. Students enrolled in GW’s student health insurance plan are eligible to participate in Quit and Fit, a one-year personal coaching program.
Faculty and staff have access to LifeCare – a free GW benefit that offers counseling, referral services, educational materials, free webinars and smoking cessation discounts. They also have access to the Faculty/Employee Assistance Program (F/EAP), which offers three free smoking cessation counseling sessions. Those who are enrolled in United Health Care can receive a five-week quit plan program that’s tailored to an individual’s smoking habits and needs.
In addition, the campaign website includes information on how family members, friends and co-workers can help others quit by avoiding judgment, offering gum or mints to keep their hands and mouth busy and celebrating even the smallest victory. The site also offers links to national free smoking cessation options like the Ex Plan, smokefree.gov and the American Lung Association.
The campaign’s website features a savings calculator that measures how much a smoker would save if they quit today. The average price of a cigarette pack before taxes is $5.31, and the average smoker goes through 20 cigarettes, or one pack a day. Therefore, the average smoker spends $1,938.15 a year before taxes. Each state sets its own cigarette tax. In New York City, for example, taxes increase the cost of just one pack to $11.
The GW community can learn more about the “Be a Quitter!” campaign at the Lerner Health & Wellness Center’s annual health fair from 5-6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.