From the Editor's Desk...
By: Gwynn Bradley
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Opinion/Editorial
"X-number of people get such-and-such illness from smoking."
That's more or less what the anti-smoking signs around campus have said all week. We have all walked passed them. Many of us ignored them, probably. Some of us, including me, wanted to kick them down.
This is not to say I don't appreciate the position of those who put up the signs. They are fighting for a noble cause. They just aren't going about it in the right way.
I should know. I was a smoker, and even as an ex-smoker, those signs still tick me off.
Aside from a rare few, every smoker knows that smoking is bad for you. It's not new information, so bombarding a smoker with statistics about people with smoking-related diseases or death is not likely to make a person quit.
Fear tactics - or applying any pressure, really - just isn't effective.
Instead, most will roll their eyes, some will smoke more and they will all gripe about it when they gather in front of a building to finish a cigarette before class.
Putting someone on the defensive rarely works.
I remember when I first thought about quitting and looked online for help. Most of the websites were extremely aggressive and tried to shame me into changing what had become a lifestyle for me. Almost immediately, I signed off, went outside mumbling and lit up a cigarette.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances out there, chemically and psychologically.
A British study placed nicotine as equally addictive as heroin. As early as 15 years ago, scientists at the University of California at San Francisco said the relapse rate for nicotine was higher than heroin and cocaine.
Just to consider quitting smoking takes will power, fortitude and support from others.
I say this because well before I even planned to quit, a relative was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on top of numerous heart problems.
What did I do? I hid my addiction from my uncle. I didn't quit yet because I knew I would "someday."
That's more or less what the anti-smoking signs around campus have said all week. We have all walked passed them. Many of us ignored them, probably. Some of us, including me, wanted to kick them down.
This is not to say I don't appreciate the position of those who put up the signs. They are fighting for a noble cause. They just aren't going about it in the right way.
I should know. I was a smoker, and even as an ex-smoker, those signs still tick me off.
Aside from a rare few, every smoker knows that smoking is bad for you. It's not new information, so bombarding a smoker with statistics about people with smoking-related diseases or death is not likely to make a person quit.
Fear tactics - or applying any pressure, really - just isn't effective.
Instead, most will roll their eyes, some will smoke more and they will all gripe about it when they gather in front of a building to finish a cigarette before class.
Putting someone on the defensive rarely works.
I remember when I first thought about quitting and looked online for help. Most of the websites were extremely aggressive and tried to shame me into changing what had become a lifestyle for me. Almost immediately, I signed off, went outside mumbling and lit up a cigarette.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances out there, chemically and psychologically.
A British study placed nicotine as equally addictive as heroin. As early as 15 years ago, scientists at the University of California at San Francisco said the relapse rate for nicotine was higher than heroin and cocaine.
Just to consider quitting smoking takes will power, fortitude and support from others.
I say this because well before I even planned to quit, a relative was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on top of numerous heart problems.
What did I do? I hid my addiction from my uncle. I didn't quit yet because I knew I would "someday."