Tobacco-Free UC Encourages Students to Go Cold Turkey

UC Clermont College students, faculty and staff recently received extra encouragement to quit smoking—and nabbed a free lunch.

On Aug. 23 at the college’s campus (and Aug. 29 on the UC East campus), “Go Cold Turkey” events were held as part of the university’s Tobacco-Free UC initiative, launched in May, which designated all of UC’s campuses as smoke-free.

Students who signed pledges to refrain from starting tobacco use were given free turkey sandwiches from Eastgate eatery Everything Bagel along with Quit Kits, which included toothbrushes and toothpaste, gum, and fun items like branded Frisbees. Other giveaways included t-shirts, water bottles and candy; nicotine-replacement gum and patches are also available for students, faculty and staff looking to quit using tobacco products.

“Research shows that most people start smoking between ages 18 and 22,” said Karen Mathis, one of the coordinators of the Tobacco-Free initiative at UC Clermont. “If students don’t start smoking now, they most likely never will.”

More giveaways are scheduled for the college’s annual Fall Fest (Sept. 6 and 12 at the Batavia campus; Sept. 11 at UC East), and UC Clermont will hold a Freshstart Tobacco Cessation Series on campus for individuals interested in quitting tobacco throughout the Fall semester. Visit

http://www.uc.edu/hr/bewelluc/i_want_to/feelwell/tobaccofree/clermont_resources.html

for session days and times. Contact

karen.mathis@uc.edu

at UC Clermont or

jodi.kaminski@uc.edu

at UC East for more information or for nicotine-replacement treatment samples, or visit

http://www.uc.edu/hr/bewelluc/i_want_to/feelwell/tobaccofree.html

to learn more.