JSU Newswire
Jacksonville, Alabama
 

JSU Offers Smoking Cessation Program


Jamie M. Eubanks
JSU News Bureau

JACKSONVILLE -- December 5, 2001 -- "Smoking is the number one cause of disease and disability in America," says Dr. Brenda Roberts, professor of nursing at Jacksonville State University. But thanks to a grant from Stringfellow Health Trust in Anniston, JSU is helping individuals kick the habit FOR FREE.

Now, in it's fourth and final year, JSU's Smoking Cessation Program is helping smokers stop "the worst lifestyle habit a person can acquire." Smoking Cessation is a free eight-week program that will begin on January 23, 2002.

But Dr. Roberts points out that participants don't really spend all that time in classes and seminars. "The first session will be an hour long and every session thereafter will be approximately 30 minutes." These sessions are held at JSU at noon and in Anniston at 5:15 p.m.

In most larger cities, this treatment would cost about one hundred dollars. But for JSU's program, there is no fee. Roberts suggests, however, that participants use an aide to help them quit. She recommends Zyban. But if you are unable to take Zyban, she suggests trying a nicotine patch.

JSU has a physician who will serve as a medical consultant. He can prescribe Zyban or determine whether or not Zyban is right for you. And there is a grant available for Calhoun County residents to cover Zyban expenses.

Need some reasons to quit smoking? Here are just few:

  • Smoking can lead to lung cancer, lung disease, stroke, low birth weight, crib death (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome-SIDS), and is a risk factor for other cancers.

  • Fifty percent of children of smoking parents will smoke.

  • Second-hand smoke causes children to have more colds, asthma attacks and middle ear infections.

  • Each smoker costs their employer $10,408.00 every year due to direct and indirect causes.


"For pregnant women who smoke, it is like handing their unborn child a cigarette," says Roberts.

Applications for Smoking Cessation are due Monday, January 7. To receive an application, contact Dr. Brenda Roberts at 256-782-5671 or access the application by visiting the nursing department's website at www.jsu.edu/depart/nursing/.


 

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