Most of universities and colleges system have planned to ban smoking on campus or even prohibited it already, because they consider that a smoking ban would help improve the health of a lot of people on campus. And of course it will help smokers who want to quit but can’t. For example Chris Lazo, has smoked for 14 years and consider his smoking habit obnoxious and desire to quit. He explained: ”I’m addicted. I even don’t smoke cigarettes for to make friends or be sociable. I smoke only because I became addicted to it.”

In the coming months, University of North Alabama officials will renovate the university’s smoking policy by banning smoking on campus. So, Lazo will have a chance to quit smoking. However, David Shields, vice president for student matters, consider that it is already a sufficient process. He added that the improved policy can have effect but can fall unfortunately.

The new anti-smoking legislation will prohibit smoking inside all university buildings, but of course the new policy would designate special smoking areas that would be a fixed distance from building entries. It also would propose for those students, who wish to kick the bad habit, special smoking cessation programs. “With the review, we intend to make it a stronger law. For example, we’re seeing some increases in our rate of smokers, especially among young ladies,” Shields said.

Researchers recently found that one-third to one-half of the students use to smoke tobacco, even if infrequently. However male smokers’ number is higher than the female smokers, the women who smoke between the ages of 18 years old and 24 is higher.

Increased tobacco products by Tobacco Companies, as well as friends’ pressure and of course the parental control freedom - are among the main reasons which raise the smokers’ numbers especially among teenagers.

The director of University Health Services, Cindy Wood said: “From a medical point of view, it’s a big problem if even one person used to smoke. Even though, I don’t have all the data about smokers’ amount, more and more young women start to smoke every day.”

Most of smokers consider them not really smokers because they used to smoke only weekends or when they drink alcohol. And for most of students smoking is only a sort of stress relief and not a habit. Cindy Wood concluded that medically a casual smoker can become an addictive smoker which would smoke two-pack-a-day.

By Steve Shepherd, Staff Writer. Copyright © 2010 Cigarette-Store.org. All rights reserved.