WMU’s smoking cessation, Kick the Nic

By Laura Christian
Western Herald

Western Michigan University has revised its tobacco cessation program to include more convenient resources to help the campus community stop smoking, said Dr. Lisa Marshall, the WMU medical director.

According to Marshall, the Kick the Nic program has many flexible components to cater to the needs of different individuals. There are online resources, phone consultation, smoking cessation specialists and clinician appointments.

“Since people have less time and more and more demands in their life, the revised program offers a variety of resources to match your daily routines,” Marshall said.

Michigan legislation passed the new smoking law in May, which enforces smoke-free environments. WMU launched the revised program, also in May, named Kick the Nic, to help students, faculty and qualifying dependents stop using tobacco, Marshall said.

“WMU leadership is seriously committed to the health of our campus community, and they are willing to provide programs and resources for students, faculty, staff and dependents to quit using tobacco and promote heath,” Marshall said.

“I think that Western trying to help their students make the push to stop smoking is really good and shows that they care about their students,” said Katie Dalton, a senior at WMU who smokes cigarettes.

Kick the Nic is a program that was started by WMU’s Sindecuse Health Center to help individuals overcome the challenges associated with ceasing to use tobacco in a confidential and non-judgmental manner. An added convenience is that they will ship tobacco cessation products to people at WMU’s satellite campuses, Marshall said.

“Quitting a habit can be challenging and most people need guidance and support to make a successful behavior change,” Marshall said.

Taking the initiative to go to Sindecuse to find out more about the program and the steps involved is a concern of some students.

Since the program is designed to fit people’s schedules, students, faculty and qualifying dependants do not need to leave their homes to view the steps involved in enrolling for the Kick the Nic program. This and other information about Kick the Nic can be viewed at http://www.wmich.edu/shc/kickit/.

“Given the push by Michigan legislation and the increasing cost of tobacco products, we are hoping to see more students, employees and dependents take advantage to kick the habit,” Marshall said.

Kick the Nic accepts many different types of insurance to help pay for their services and if a student’s insurance plan is not accepted they may qualify to be reimbursed for clinical services. To find out what insurance plans are accepted, visit their website or call 269-387-3290.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=17407

Posted by kleonard on Jun 6 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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