'Tis the Season to BeAWARE!

 

Because November is Lung Cancer Awareness month and because November ushers in the holiday season, a season of parties and merriness, November is also the season to BeAWARE.  This week CCV hopes to raise awareness about tobacco addiction and alcohol and substance abuse.

According to the most recent VT CORE Drug and Alcohol survey results, CCV students drink alcohol less frequently than students at other Vermont colleges; however, CCV respondents reported regularly using tobacco more than the respondents from 4-year colleges in Vermont. 

Any Vermont college students considering quitting smoking should check out the Vermont Quit Network which  offers FREE quitting coaches in person, by phone or online.  Additionally, anyone who signs up for a quit coach in-person or by phone can receive free nicotine gum, patches or lozenges delivered right to their home.  

Some smokers wonder what the benefits of quitting smoking bring.  Well, the benefits are many – and some benefits are fairly immediate.  In just 20 minutes after a quitter’s last cigarette, blood pressure returns to normal, in 8 hours carbon monoxide levels in the blood stream drop my half and oxygen levels return to normal, in 72 hours risk of heart attack declines, and in 5 years the risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.  In 10 to 15 years after quitting, the risk of lung cancer returns to that of a non-smoker.  

Smokers who quit or cut back on cigarettes also bring benefits to their wallets through serious savings.  Cigarettes are expensive.  Period.  If you’re curious about just how much giving up cigarettes can save, use the Money in Your Pocket cigarette calculator.  

Visit the BeAWARE bulletin board in your CCV center to read on about alcohol and drugs and smoking cessation or to pick up brochures about free smoking cessation resources available to Vermonters. And remember  -- ‘tis the season to be merry – and we hope you have much to merry about!