Leaders of the pack

About 70 Dalhousie students are trying to leave the pack behind. The cigarette pack, that is. Dalhousie has joined 10 of Ontario's universities in a program aimed at tobacco awareness and control - Leave The Pack Behind. Pioneered by Brock University, the program offers a number of contests and free information aimed at involving students in their own decisions about tobacco use. Derrick Enslow, the Health Educator at Dalhousie Health Services, brought the program here. Dal is the only university outside of Ontario to test the program this year.

The group with the highest concentration of smokers in Canada is the 18 to 24 years of age - university age - group. Sarah Blades, the student Team Leader for Dal's program, says many university students still enjoy smoking. In fact, recent research shows that 40 per cent of university students smoke at least occasionally and 10 per cent of these got started when they came to university. It is common for people of university age to smoke when they drink - an experiment associated with young adult life.

Party without the pack

"Now the good news," says Ms. Blades. "70 per cent of student who do smoke would like to quit." That provides fertile ground for a program like Leave the Pack Behind. "The objective is not necessarily trying to get people to quit," explains Ms. Blades, "but, for example, to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke a day or to stop smoking when they drink."

The contest options have great names: Quit for Good. Keep the Count. Party Without the Pack. Don't Start and Win. "There are four different streams to the contest," says Ms. Blades. "There is Quit for Good. There is Keep the Count, aimed at reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke by 50 per cent. Party Without the Pack is aimed at getting you to stop smoking when you consume alcohol. And Don't Start and Win - that is for non-smokers and they have to agree not to smoke for the length of the program."

Students in each category must have a non-smoking "buddy", who will vouch for them. Students must live up to their agreement for at least six weeks. There are tests to ensure they have not slipped - including blowing into a device which measures carbon monoxide in the lungs. Contest prizes include a $500 tuition waiver, a $500 travel voucher from Travel Cuts and gift certificates. They will be awarded April 3 at the contest closing party. Leave the Pack Behind is funded by the federal government and the Capital District Health Authority.

* Mary Somers, Senior Communications Advisor in Communication and Marketing, and Sarah Blades, are members of the Dalhousie University Community Committee (DUCC). Mary provides community relations and communications support to the DUCC and Sarah is an Off Campus Student Representative.