A helping hand

On April 1, the national cigarette tax rose 62 cents per pack, and Columbia College Student Council has been debating a possible ban on smoking on the Columbia campus. Tobacco use is becoming an increasingly prominent issue, and Columbia Health Services offers a Smoking Cessation Program that can help students quit smoking. Students who wish to give up their habit should take advantage of Health Services’ free and personalized program.

Smoking is a health hazard not only for students who smoke but also for those who inhale secondhand tobacco smoke. For health and revenue purposes, New York has passed several regulations that make smoking in public spaces increasingly inconvenient. For example, smoking is banned in most indoor areas, including all restaurants and bars, and within 25 feet of buildings. The state’s tobacco tax, combined with New York City’s tax, add up to an extra $4.25 per pack of cigarettes. Recently, the debate has moved to campus. CCSC has been debating a proposal put forth by the Columbia University tobacco workgroup that would ban smoking within the Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus gates. A similar ban already exists on Banard’s campus. Health Services offers a free and convenient program for students who would like to quit smoking for health, monetary, or other reasons. The Smoking Cessation Program provides each student with his or her own tobacco cessation specialist along with free nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges.

Students who wish to quit smoking should consider enrolling in Health Service’s Smoking Cessation Program. Although the choice to consume tobacco is a personal one, the program is a helpful option for those who wish to give up the addicting habit. The service is free, easily accessible on campus, and highly individualized. Even if a student does not have time to meet with a personal specialist on a regular basis, the program offers free nicotine replacement products and prescriptions. Columbia Health Services has provided students with this well-stocked and well-designed outlet through which to secure success, and students should not waste the resource.

Quitting smoking is a daunting task. The Smoking Cessation program is a resource that students should take advantage of and should use to secure the success that quitting without support may not provide.