Smoking
Cessation Groups 
Smoking
Cessation Groups
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Tired of Smoking? The Drop-In Center offers a program to help you quit. If being a former smoker sounds good to you, stop by the Drop-In Center and talk to a professionally-trained counselor who can help you stop smoking for good! |
Tips to help you stop smoking:
Take advantage of peer pressure.Check your calendar.
The first couple of weeks after you quit are a crucial time:
You'll be changing your daily routine, you may feel moody, get headaches or feel
sick. If you've been smoking for a long time, you may not even feel like you.
Give yourself a break and pick a time to quit when life's other demands aren't
heavily on your shoulders. (That means you might want to stay away from New
Year's Day as a quit date.)
Find a smoke-free buddy.
Don't do it alone. Find a friend you can talk to about your
progress and check in with at least once a week. Successful quitters suggest
that you even give one of your favorite keepsakes to your buddy to hold as
ransom until you reach your first goal.
Jump around.
Exercise will help take your mind off smoking. And now that
your lungs are healing, you'll notice you can breathe better, and working out
isn't so painful.
Feed yourself well.
It's a common misconception that people gain weight after
they quit smoking. In fact, that's a primary reason many people refuse to quit!
Researchers who have studied quitters would like to put your mind at ease: They
say most people will gain a few extra pounds because of metabolism changes, but
the weight gain is due in large part to people replacing cigarettes with fatty
foods. They suggest keeping chewing gum, hard candies or low-fat snacks, like
carrot sticks, around to help you get over the habit of putting something in
your mouth. Remember, saving your life, and the lives
of those around, is more important than a few pounds.
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Free Smoking Cessation Program Smoking kills more people each year than AIDS, drug abuse, car accidents, and murders combined. The nicotine in cigarettes is just as addictive as heroin and cocaine. 50% of smokers who don’t quit will die because of smoking, and 100% of smokers who don’t quit will develop a smoking-related illness. Health
and Wellness programs offers free smoking Cessation classes for USC
students, faculty, and staff. This includes free medications for persons
needing them, including Zyban and the nicotine patch. Our program is led
by an expert behavioral psychologist who has helped many just like you
escape their nicotine addiction. You could be next! More than 80% of
people who enroll successfully quit smoking for good! You can, too! The
program is confidential and meets only six days over a six-week period. For
more information, call 777-8248. |
Who still smokes?
More than 75% of the U.S. adult population are NON-smokers.
More than 70% of college students choose not to smoke
More than 80% of smokers say they want to quit today.
Smoking is no longer popular.
Last year more than 1.3 million smokers quit for good! You could be next!
When you quit smoking:
After 20 minutes, your blood pressure, pulse rate, and body temperature return to normal.
After 8 hours, oxygen levels in your blood increase to normal.
After 1 day, your chances of a heart attack decrease.
After 2 days, your nerve endings start to regrow.
After 3 days, your breathing gets better and your lungs start to improve.
After two weeks, your blood circulation is vastly improved, and your lung function increases by 30%.
What to expect during the first few smoke-free days:
You might feel dizzy or light-headed. Your blood cells are finally getting enough oxygen, and this takes a little adjustment. When you smoke, 40% of the oxygen in each red blood cell is replaced by carbon monoxide.
You’ll cough more. This is a good sign. Smoking causes your body to produce extra mucus to try to protect your lungs. When you stop smoking, you body tries to get rid of this extra mucus.
You’ll experience withdrawal. Your body and all of its cells are used to functioning with nicotine and 4,000+ other chemicals in tobacco smoke, and they must adapt to a smoke-free environment.
Withdrawal symptoms during the first few days might include: feeling slightly depressed, being a little anxious or jumpy, experiencing slight insomnia, and having trouble concentrating.
You’ll have the urge to smoke because you’re addicted to nicotine, meaning your body is used to functioning with its normal level of nicotine and will notice the absence of the drug.
You may also want to smoke when doing many of your daily activities, because your brain has associated these activities with smoking.
This urge to smoke will decrease in intensity and frequency during the first few days.
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Health and Wellness Programs |
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777-8248 / 576-9393 |
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Centers for Disease Control |
| 1600 Clifton Rd. | |
| Atlanta, GA 30333 | |
| Anti-smoking campaign | |
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7272 Greenville Avenue |
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Dallas, TX 75231 |
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(800) AHA-USA1 (242-8721) |
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1740 Broadway, 14th Floor |
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New York, NY 10019 |
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(212) 315-8700 |
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Bethesda, MD 20892 |
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(800) 4-CANCER (422-6237) |
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| Lung Cancer Information |
