University aims campaign at smokers

The Great American Smokeout is Thursday throughout the nation.
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- As the nation gears up for the Great American Smokeout on Thursday, Slippery Rock University has launched a major smoking-cessation campaign that will continue for seven months.
Components include stop-smoking kits, awareness events and an education shelter.
Student volunteers will staff a "smokers education shelter" near Bailey Library. T-shirts, fliers, chalk signs and posters complete the campaign, which also applies to smokeless tobacco.
The College of Health, Environment and Science teamed with the McLachlan Student Health Center to reach students moving through the University Union on their way to events and activities; students smoking on campus or standing with smokers; athletes using training areas and trainers who work with them; and smokers congregating in areas outside buildings.
"Our goal is to map out a method for quitting once and for all," said Dr. Jane Fulton, dean of the college. "It's not enough to stop for one day. We must provide information on wellness, exercise and other factors so that students can make healthy lifestyle choices."
The American Cancer Society has the Great American Smokeout every year to help smokers quit cigarettes for at least one day in hopes they will quit forever.
More people quit smoking on this day than any other day of the year, says the agency's Web site.