New Smoking Cessation Curriculum Targets Fastest Growing Group of Smokers: College-age Adults
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2003
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
New Smoking Cessation Curriculum Targets Fastest Growing Group of Smokers: College-age Adults
A course devised by a California State University, Chico faculty member and a graduate student addresses a new front in the tobacco wars: how to stop 18- to 24-year-old smokers from getting hooked.
Starting next week, a group of CSU, Chico students who want to quit smoking will begin an eight-week class designed to address challenges specific to their age group, which new studies show is the largest growing group of smokers.
The American Lung Association of California, Superior Branch, which is based in Chico, funded the creation of the course via Proposition 99 funds generated by tobacco taxes.
CSU, Chico communication design professor John Roussell began developing the course last fall with the help of graduate student Nissa Munroe, who will teach the course. The curriculum was tested with students, and focus groups were held to provide feedback.
“Older adults are often motivated to quit by doctor’s orders, or by not wanting to smoke around their children,” Roussell said. “University students typically don’t have these situations, so the challenge was how to create motivation for them.”
Roussell said the course uses stress-reduction techniques and group support to help the class members quit. Equally important, the course deals with the realities of college-age adults, such as the party scene, where class members are frequently tempted to light up. “This class is geared to them and the world they live in,” Roussell said.
Munroe and Roussell, an expert in instructional technology, created a DVD for use in the class that has testimonials and vignettes to send the message about the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting.
In the test class last fall, 11 of 12 students quit smoking, Roussell said.
Shelly Brantley, project director for the American Lung Association of California, Superior Branch, said so-called social smoking – such as someone smoking only when they go out with friends – is now viewed as dangerous behavior. “New research has shown that an incredibly small amount of nicotine can be addictive,” she said.
Brantley said if funds are available, the class will be offered at other college and university campuses in the future.
The smoking cessation class, free to students, starts Wednesday evening, Oct. 15. For more information, contact Brantley at 897-4141.
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