UHS Distributes Gum, Candy in 13th Smokeout

University Health Services (UHS) yesterday distributed care packages with chewing gum, lollipops and information on how to quit smoking as Harvard took part in the American Cancer Society's 13th annual Great American Smokeout.

Students and faculty picked up the packets for the Smokeout, an effort to persuade smokers to quit their habit for a day, in the lobby of Holyoke Center and in locations at the Law School, the Medical School and the Business School, organizers said.

"The packets are a gimmick that makes quitting more fun," said Maura D. Valle, a UHS health educator. "It's not even a cessation program so much as an awareness program," she said, explaining that organizers hoped that abstaining from cigarettes for one day could lead participants to quit for good.

The Smokeout yesterday appeared to be as popular as those in previous years, said Kathleen M. Kniepmann, assistant to the director of UHS. She said UHS does not have figures indicating how many students and faculty have participated in the annual event.

Unlike in some previous years, no students tabled House dining halls to urge undergraduates join the Smokeout. This year, Kniepmann said, UHS decided to emphasize that faculty, staff and graduate students should participate in the event, because a greater percentage of them smoke than of undergraduates.

Sea Change

The Smokeout, despite its low-key approach, is characteristic of changes in attitudes toward smoking, said Joanne Schellenbach, a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society "We're in the middle of real social change right now," she said.

Coinciding with the Smokeout, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54 (D-Mass.) this week introduced a bill calling for a $185 million program to help limit the use of cigarettes.

"The legislation introduced by Senator Kennedy has caused real ferment in Washington," Schellenbach said.