2008 Woodie Awards
Wanna quit smoking? Try going cold turkey...with help
Elizabeth A. Terry
Issue date: 11/14/06 Section: Campus News
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The Truth Campaigns on television simply weren't effective enough, according to a slide show on the N.C. Quitline Website, so now the UNC School of Public Health is fighting back with a campaign to promote the N.C. Quitline to young adult smokers. The ad campaigns have now been kicked up a notch, with slogans like "Cold Bird = Great Bod."
Housing and Residence Life's homepage off the UNCG website has added that little red box, as well, publicizing Quitlinenc.com and the red logo for the N.C. Quitline smoking campaign.
According to a study conducted by the American Medical Association in 2000, 28.5 percent of people began to smoke regularly at or after age 19, and were already college students. Of the 28 percent in the 1998 study by the American Medical Association, half of the current students tried to quit the year before; 18 percent had tried 5 or more times to quit.
The website reserves a section for 24-year-olds and under, a 25-year-olds and older, and a fax referral service for healthcare providers. A number is also provided for the 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) hotline that stays open from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.
The hotline works like this: a smoker calls, talks to a Quit Coach, creates a plan to quit, and quits. In the process of quitting, if the smoker has a hard time they can contact their Quit Coach at any time, and if the smoker would like, the Quit Coach will call them to see how they're doing and hold them accountable.
Quitline N.C. is supported by the Health and Wellness Trust Fund, the Division of Public Health and NC-DHHS. The "Quit Coaches" are professionally trained smoking cessation coaches, created for both adults and youth, and the hotlines are free to all North Carolina residents.
Professionally trained Quit Coaches focus on three prongs: Information, Guidance, and Encouragement. Information is given about the options that a smoker has to "go turkey," guidance is provided as the smoker and the Quit Coach get to know one another, and encouragement is offered for those times when cravings strike or the smoker needs someone to talk with.
"You've got nothing to lose and a whole new tobacco-free life to gain," the website states.
For more information go to the Housing and Residence Life website, http://hrl.uncg.edu, or the Quitline website, www.quitlinenc.com.
The annual Great American Smokeout takes place this Thursday, Nov. 16 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the EUC Commons. This event is part of Fit and Quit week and is sponsored by the Wellness Center.
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