Tom Corcoran owes Emily Bebber dinner.
Why? Because last month, Tom, a junior, promised Emily that if she endured a week without cigarettes, he would treat her to dinner. Emily met Tom’s challenge and now counts her smoke-free days in double digits.
Bebber, Enrollment Assistant and 1999 graduate, describes a smoking history similar to that of many Guilford students. She started smoking at 14 and smoked more once she got to college. She tried to quit, but the stress of school and tempting social situations made it difficult.
Now, with the help of a nicotine patch and supportive friends, Bebber is determined to leave smoking as part of her school-day past. How does Guilford compare to other colleges?
What first-year Sarah Crane observed on her college search proves accurate. “I think the smoking was at the same level at other colleges I visited,” she said. “I attributed it to that stage in life when people are exploring, when they have new freedom.”
A simple survey of the Guilford campus compared with surveys by the Harvard Medical School and University of Massachusetts Medical School confirms Crane’s assessment. Of 98 Guilford students responding to the survey, 35% smoke cigarettes, compared to 30 to 38% in the other surveys.
Most of the Guilford smokers, 85%, began smoking prior to college. Other studies report that high school smokers smoke significantly more once in college, citing reasons of less supervision and having friends who smoke.
One first-year student wrote on her survey, “I didn’t become a habitual smoker until I came here.”
Who smokes at Guilford?
“I’m surprised at the number of women and the number of asthmatics who smoke,” said Lucy Barden, director of Student Health.
As a physician’s assistant, Barden screens students requesting birth control pills and requires them to sign this statement: “Birth control pill users who smoke increase their risk of blood clots five times. I understand this risk.”
According to the campus sampling, Guilford women are twice as likely to smoke as men. Studies of other colleges show higher smoking rates among men. They also tend to be heavier smokers.
Although Barden sees fewer male patients who smoke, she reports more males seek help in smoking cessation. “Males have tended to smoke for more years and have more difficulty quitting,” she said.
An area ripe for further research is the question of smoking habits across academic disciplines. A quick view of the campus survey reveals a higher percentage of smokers coming from upper-level classes in Duke hall than from the Frank Family Science Center or Ragan-Brown.
How does smoking affect student life?
Housing contract notwithstanding, students often request new room assignments based on smoking preferences. Director of Residential Life Joanne Toby once received a housing form on which the parents indicated the student was a non-smoker. On the outside of the envelope, however, the student wrote, “my parents don’t know I smoke, but I’d like to room with a smoker.”
Even when students can complete the form candidly, habits change. Students quit smoking; students start smoking. Students want friends to be comfortable in their rooms.
Junior Nicky Blanchard, a former smoker, remembers smoking as way to make friends during her first year. “It was an excuse to sit outside and meet people. I felt stupid just sitting outside, but if I went outside for a cigarette, that was okay,” she said.
While no one seems to know where the campus smoking policies are written down, students believe the approved smoking areas are outside of buildings, the back seating area of the Underground, and in residential hall rooms with the agreement of the roommate.
Although smoking is not permitted in student lounges, the furniture, with burn marks and ash, proves otherwise.
How does smoking affect other areas of the campus?
No, the squirrels don’t get tumors, but smoking does make more work for the Building Services staff. Director Cecil McDowell estimates that nearly one hour each morning is devoted to cleaning up debris at Founders, Bauman, and Milner where students gather at entrances to smoke.
McDowell finds butts in bushes, plants, and bathroom sinks. “We bought cigarette urns for the balcony of each suite in Bryan. Within a month they were gone,” he said. And butts continue to be thrown on balconies and the quad.
Cigarettes and Alcohol
As the Building Services staff can attest, cigarettes and alcohol go hand-in-hand. Residence halls are littered with bottle caps used for snuffing out cigarettes.
Of the Guilford students who responded to the survey, 15 consider themselves social smokers. They smoke primarily at parties or when drinking alcohol. One former smoker wrote, “ I only smoke when I drink alcohol now, so I very rarely drink because it makes me smoke.”
Experts say the combined effects of nicotine and alcohol often lead to increased cravings for each substance. “Repeated exposure to nicotine through smoking can enhance the pleasurable effects of alcohol, and there’s probably some biological basis for this,” said Dr. Dzung Ang Le of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Le recommends curbing alcohol intake when quitting smoking.
Who wants to quit?
According to the campus survey, nearly all Guilford smokers plan to quit. Someday, they say. But, considering that the American Lung Association estimates 25% of adults smoke, it’s likely that some Guilford students will remain long-term smokers.
Yet, Lucy Barden estimates that she sees approximately five students each month interested in quitting. If Rike Shores, part-time nurse, and the doctors in Student Health also get five requests, nearly one-third of Guilford smokers could quit before they graduate. That’s 100 students per academic year.