Editor's note: See the Reflections article to read the success story of an MCG faculty member who kicked a 40-year smoking habit.
The irony is not lost on Diana Morris that she spends lots of time these days amassing smoking-cessation materials for her supervisor, Vice President for University Advancement R. Bryan Ginn Jr.
As co-chair of an MCG committee to eliminate all tobacco use on campus by next November, Mr. Ginn has been elbow-deep lately in cessation-related literature. As his administrative assistant, Ms. Morris has been right by his side C9 except when she slips out of the building periodically to take a cigarette break.
Ms. Morris, recipient of MCG’s 2006 Erie P. Blissit Award for exceptional service, knows how hard it will be to kick a 30-year, pack-a-day habit, but she is gratified that MCG’s expanded tobacco-free initiative—banning tobacco everywhere on campus, inside and out—has increased her motivation to finally kick a habit she has grown to loathe.
“I hate everything about smoking,” she said. “I wish cigarettes had never been invented. I started in high school because everybody else was doing it. I quit when I was pregnant with my first son, but then I started back again, and at that point, I was truly addicted. I’m ashamed that I smoke, ashamed that I allow myself to continue. People say that smoking relieves stress, but I’ve found that it just creates it.”
She has already stopped smoking in her home and car, refusing to contaminate her precious grandson’s environment, and she hopes the inability to smoke at work will finally help her join the ranks of non-smokers.
“I hate stepping out for cigarette breaks,” she said. “I know people look at me like, ‘Poor thing C9 she knows smoking is bad for her, yet she still can’t quit.’”
Actually, she’s not far off the mark. Empathy is in ample supply as the
university embarks on what administrators know will be a tough challenge for
smoking and smokeless tobacco users. Biomedical researchers and health care
clinicians are particularly attuned to the reality that tobacco use is a
physical addiction. All the will power in the world can be circumvented by the
brain’s conditioned desire for nicotine, and smokers have nothing to be ashamed
of. They need assistance, not scorn.
This is the philosophy guiding MCG’s enterprisewide tobacco-free policy, scheduled to be fully in place by the next Great American Smokeout Nov. 15.
It’s the right thing to do, say MCG President Daniel W. Rahn, MCG Health, Inc. President and CEO Don Snell and Physicians Practice Group President and CEO Curt Steinhart.
With surveys showing that three-fourths of tobacco users want to quit, that tobacco use causes nearly half a million deaths annually in the United States, that estimated medical costs for tobacco users are up to 32 times higher than for non-users and run an estimated $50 billion a year, implementing a tobacco-free environment is a no-brainer, they say.
Mr. Ginn and Deborah Humphrey, MCGHI director of public relations and co-chair of the task force, joined Dr. Rahn, Mr. Snell and Dr. Steinhart Nov. 29 in the Large Auditorium for a town-hall meeting to announce the initiative and address people’s concerns.
“Are we talking about going cold turkey here?” asked one audience member, amid chuckles.
Not at all. “We will proceed very thoughtfully,” assured Ms. Humphrey.
“The structure is in place now,” said Mr. Ginn. “The action will be ongoing.”
The task force is divided into three areas. A benchmarking and data collection team chaired by Sharon Bennett, associate professor in the MCG School of Nursing, will examine how other academic medical centers and University System of Georgia institutions are addressing the issue. They will investigate relevant legislation, local ordinances and potential ramifications.
A second team will concentrate on human impact and enforcement, looking into
cessation and exercise programs, possible reductions in health insurance
premiums, non-compliance issues and the overall effect on all parties. Rick
Tobias, vice president of facility services for MCGHI, chairs the committee.
The implementation and reporting team, chaired by Caryl Brown, MCG director of strategic communications, will conduct attitude and perception surveys, implement communication plans and submit the final report, including budget.
The tobacco-free initiative is a logical extension of MCG’s mission to improve health and reduce the burden of illness in society, pointed out Dr. Rahn. Potential benefits include increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, lower medical costs, a cleaner environment and the good will resulting from a common goal and the university-wide commitment to improve its community’s health.
A commitment to individual well-being produces cumulative benefits as well, noted
Dr. Steinhart. “Business wants to keep employees healthy and productive,” he said. “In the competitive world of health care, frankly, tobacco use is bad business.”
“The stakes are much higher now,” concurred Mr. Snell. “From an HI
perspective, tobacco use impacts heavily on patient satisfaction. Emotions run
high.”
Employees will be offered tobacco-cessation programs that have proven effective across age, gender and ethnicity lines. Cessation counseling alone has been shown to dramatically increase quit rates, while programs that combine counseling with nicotine replacement aids or other drug therapies have helped many adults quit permanently.
“I think the cessation programs will be a great help, and I plan to take advantage of them,” said
Ms. Morris. Although she knows the coming months will be a struggle for MCG tobacco users, she considers the policy more than fair. “I don’t think anything about it is unfair. I think smoking is unfair. I don’t like subjecting non-smokers to my second-hand smoke.”
She also finds a certain nobility in bearing a torch for future generations. “Even if this policy doesn’t help current smokers—after all, not everybody wants to quit—it will help our children and their children. The harder it is to smoke, the less likely it is that people will do it. We need to start somewhere.”
- Christine Hurley Deriso and Sharron Walls
THE BENEFITS OF QUITTING AFTER* ... |
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| 20 MINUTES | Your blood pressure drops to a level close to that before the last cigarette. The temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal |
| 8 HOURS | The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. |
| 24 HOURS | Your chance of a heart attack decreases |
| 2 WEEKS TO 3 MONTHS | Your circulation improves and your lung function increases up to 30 percent. |
| 1 TO 9 MONTHS | Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease; cilia regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce infection. |
| 1 YEAR | The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of smoker's. |
| 5 YEARS | Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker. |
| 10 YEARS | The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker's. The risks of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decrease. |
| 15 YEARS | The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's. |
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* According to the American Lung Association |
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