m
MB f you walk in to THe Dixie
Chicken or Dudley’s Draw on a
weekend night, it might seem to you
that the whole world smokes. The
wooden walls of The Chicken
probably contain the smoke of several
thousand cigarettes, and you must
have x-ray vision to see through the
smoke in Dudley’s on a Saturday
night.
Although this nicotene-filled world
exists only a few feet away from the
borders of the Texas A&M campus,
the smoke stops at Northgate. A
student walking across campus
between classes probably comes into
contact with very few smokers.
And if you live on campus, unless
you are a smoker, chances are you
won’t live with a smoker. John T.
White, Housing Services supervisor,
says this is because the department of
Housing Services tries to place
smokers together.
However, the information received
by Housing Services is often
inaccurate.
“A lot of times mom or dad fills out
the housing application, and they are
going to mark ‘no’ on the sheet, ”
White says.
Although Housing Services keeps
no statistics on the number of on-
campus students who smoke, White
says he thinks the number is
increasing.
“This is purely conjecture, but
based on the number of student
complaints 1 get about smokers, I
would say we have an increasing
number of smokers on campus,” he
says. ■
However, Elvin Smith, professor of
medical physiology and first vice
president of the Texas Heart
who smoke is around 1 1 percent, ” he
said. “That is not uncommon,
because the more educated a person,
the less likely he is to smoke. ”
George Thomas, Corps area
housing coordinator, says there also
are no statistics available on the
number of cadets who smoke.
“1 would say the amount is
minimal, ” he says. “Smoking is
allowed in the dorms, but of the 1900
cadets in the Corps, probably less
than 50 smoke.”
Lisa Lunsford, director of the
American Cancer Society in College
Station, notes a decrease in the
number of college-aged smokers,
based on data from a nation-wide
survey.
“In a survey comparing smokers
from 1977 to 1987, results show
college students who smoke are
diminishing in number,” she says. “In
1977, 36 percent of college-aged
males smoked. In 1987, that number
was down to 29 percent.
“Women showed a larger decrease.
In 1977, the percentage was 32
percent. In 1987, it was down to 24
percent. ”
However, Lunsford says that the
per capita cigarette consumption
increased by 18 percent in the past ten
years.
“Those who still smoke are
smoking more,” she says. The
American Cancer Society’s statistics
support her point.
“In males 20 years and over, the
number of men who smoke 25 or
more cigarettes a day increased from
31 to 34 percent,” she says. “In
Lunsforci seayn ex. - smokers r»umfc>er
37 million. And of the 5^1 million
people in the United States who still
smoke, 9 out of every 10 say they
want to quit.
^^ne A&M student who has
quit smoking is Angie Pahde. The
senior speech communications major
says quitting smoking was one of her
New Year’s resolutions.
“I only smoked when I drank, and I
really didn’t enjoy it,” she says. “I
decided to quit drinking, and so it
really wasn’t worth it to smoke
anymore. ”
But some smokers just can’t quit
cold turkey. For those smokers who
do want to kick the habit and need a
little help, there are many services
available.
Dr. Bob Reilley, a professor in the
educational psychology department,
says graduate students in that
department use hypnosis to treat
problems.
“We use hypnosis for several
disorders, one of which is smoking,”
he says. “We run our program in the
spring, and it has a good success rate.
Generally, hypnosis is effective in
helping people stop smoking 30
percent to 50 percent of the time. ”
Dr. Billy Trail, a College
Station psychologist, also uses
hypnosis techniques to help people
stop smoking.
“Before I start hypnosis treatment, I
spend some time talking with
patients,” she says. “1 help them get
rid of any misconceptions they may
have about hypnosis, and then I talk
Klaus-Peter Larsbach and Patricia Grant enjoy their cigarettes while relaxing at Duddley’s Draw.
aj • O
a Z •< (->
\JJ i
03 j
statfc; of hypnosis. 1 suggest other
things they could do instead of
smoking. For instance, if a person
smokes during breaks at work, 1
suggest they talk to co-workers, walk
around or go to the water cooler
instead.”
Trail says she also talks to the
patients to find out their motivations.
“I ask them why they want to stop,
and 1 tailor the hypnotic sessions and
use their words and motivations,
which are a lot stronger than any I
could impose on them,” she says.
Trail says her program is quite
successful, and knows firsthand how
successful hypnosis can be.
“I smoked for 38 years, and was up
to three packs a day,” she says. “I
took four hypnotic sessions in
Houston and quit for good. ”
Dr. Francis Kimbrough, a
psychologist in College Station, says
she uses a number of methods to treat
addiction to smoking.
“We first look at the cognitive
reasons why people smoke,” she says.
“We tell smokers to determine what
they are doing when they smoke. For
instance, are they happy or depressed
they will
itself.
“Also
concern
health.'
than the
disease,
years of
their go;
y
weren’t
effect of
were coi
others. E
smoking
did, says
oppositk
“Som
smoke, \
says. “If
respect t
Althoi
smoke a
the past,
Julie Du
now bee
“Neitl
The choice
when they smoke, do they smoke to
can’t sr
reward themselves, or just out of
“But h<
habit. Once they understand why they
3 pack*
smoke, we try to help them quit. ”
Dun
Kimbrough says behavioral
crave a
techniques are very helpful.
smokin
“One thing we do is to have
“Ilik
patients pop themselves lightly with a
hands,
rubber band when they want to
she say
smoke,” she says. “Also, we have
it wasn
them chew gum, and tell them to try
a cigan
to stay away from people who
Dun
smoke. ”
she do<
her roo
Not everybody who smokes,
“Sh<
moved
have ai
smoke
doesn’1
however, wants to quit. Some
students who smoke at A&M say they
don’t want to quit right now, and
aren’t even trying to.
Kenneth Kerr, a junior English
major, has been smoking for five
(
years.
“I don’t worry about my smoking,”
campu*
he says. “I’m sure I will have to quit
lot of pi
sometime, for health reasons, but I
non-srr
don’t think much about it now. ”
Tim
Randy Brothers, a junior chemical
Aston E
engineering major, agreed.
gradua
“I’ve been smoking since high
probler
school,” he says. “I may consider
“On
quitting smoking in the future, but not
change
now.”
probler
Dr. Paul Kingery, associate
and I d
professor of health education, says
is allow
young people think they are immortal,
the loui
and don’t really see the long-term
Mich
effects of their smoking.
accoun
Page 8/At Ease/Thursday, February 11,1988