November 11, 2005

Purdue to offer free quit kits for campus smokers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In conjunction with the 29th annual Great American Smokeout on Thursday (Nov. 17), the Purdue University Student Health Center and the Student Wellness Office will distribute free smoking cessation kits at locations across campus.

The Student Wellness Office will be offering free quit kits at the Beering Hall front lobby from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and all day at the Recreational Sports Center, the Student Wellness Office and the Purdue Pharmacy.

Almost 90 percent of Purdue students in 2003 either did not smoke or smoked less than a cigarette a day, according to a 2003 study reported by the Student Wellness Office. In the same study, about 74 percent of students reported they hadn't smoked at all in the previous 30-day period.

"When you consider that the Centers for Disease Control report 29 percent of college students smoke, Purdue is well below that average," said Jenny M. Dinelli, an alcohol, tobacco and other drug education counselor at Purdue University Student Health Center. "We're hoping the Great American Smokeout will encourage even more students, faculty and staff to become tobacco-free."

Online resources and cessation program links are offered online on the Student Wellness Office's Web site at http://www.purdue.edu/studentwell.

Those wishing to stop smoking also can contact Family Services Inc. in Lafayette, which offers Quit Smart classes. For information, contact Family Services, 731 Main St., (765) 423-5361.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Source: Jenny M. Dinelli, Purdue University Student Health Center alcohol, tobacco and other drug education counselor, (765) 496-3363, jdinelli@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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