Tuesday’s “die-in” consisted of 22 mats set up in the Union Concourse in a square, which represented the number of people who die of tobacco-related complications every day in Wisconsin according to A.N.T.I.

In honor of the Nov.15 Great American Smokeout, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students participated in an entire week of smoke-free activities.

UWM's Norris Health Center and a newly formed student group called Against Nicotine and the Tobacco Industry (A.N.T.I.) sponsored the week and provided “quit kits” made up of candy, toothpicks and rubber bands as a way to get students to kick the habit.

The Great American Smokeout began in 1976, and the Norris Health Center has been participating in it for several years. As a newly formed student group, though, this is the first year that A.N.T.I. has gotten involved.

The group, which formed this fall semester, is partnered with the Women’s Resource Center, Norris Health Center, the LGBT Center and the Peer Mentoring Center.

“We’re actually about non-smokers’ rights—the right for people to breathe fresh air,” said Dane Gagnon, an A.N.T.I officer and an advocate of smoke-free environments.

On Monday, the Klotsche Center held a "Kick the Habit Kickball” game, on Tuesday, a "die-in" presentation in the Union as well as a special presentation by Dr. Robert Shepard entitled "How Does Smoking Affect You?"

To end the week, students hosted a bake sale Thursday called “Snack for a Pack” in which students traded in cigarette packs for baked goods, and a Smoke Free Night Out Friday at the Oakcrest Tavern in Shorewood.

Tuesday’s “die-in” consisted of 22 mats set up in the Union Concourse in a square, which represented the number of people A.N.T.I. says die of tobacco-related complications every day in Wisconsin.

The idea was for students to lie on a mat and contemplate the health risks involved with smoking and perhaps their own mortality. Non-smokers, smokers and friends of smokers joined in the demonstration to promote a healthy lifestyle.

However, quitting smoking can be a difficult task, said Laura Stuart, a health educator at the Norris Health Center.

According to Stuart, it takes smokers an average of five to eight times to quit for good. With the aid of counseling and anti-smoking medication such as the nicotine patch, odds are 40 percent greater that the person quitting will not resume smoking.

Norris offers free smoking cessation counseling, both individual and in groups, and discounted anti-smoking medication such as the patch and Zyban.

“We want students to know that there are resources available to help them quit,” said Stuart.

> Comments