Preliminary data from a new survey indicate that the college environment may be a big factor in prompting students to start smoking or to increase their tobacco use.
The online smoking survey conducted by Nobacco -- a campus anti-tobacco group -- during Winter and Spring terms has received a disappointingly low response rate from smokers, however, according to survey organizer Cecelia Gaffney of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center's Norris Cotton Cancer Center.
Although 801 students had taken the survey -- which is still ongoing -- as of March 31, only 105 of those students, or 13 percent, identified themselves as current smokers -- a far lower figure than the proportion of smokers on campus, which Gaffney estimated at 35 percent.
"We were somewhat disappointed with the response of the smokers," Gaffney said.
The purpose of the survey is twofold, according to Nobacco student contact Gary Maslow '00.
First, the data generated by the survey will allow the organization to study smoking trends at Dartmouth.
Although the data are still being analyzed, some basic findings may indicate that a college environment can play a role in determining smoking habits.
Of the respondents who identified themselves as current smokers, about 26 percent did not smoke before they came to Dartmouth. About half smoked before college, but less than they smoke now. Only a quarter of smokers said they smoke at home.
Fifty-three percent said they definitely will not smoke after they graduate from the College.
Interestingly, 147 students reported quitting smoking in the past six months. Of those respondents, almost half (43 percent) said they started smoking after coming to Dartmouth. Such statistics are valuable for helping Nobacco identify smoking trends at Dartmouth.
But the survey has an educational component as well. Smokers who complete the survey have their responses analyzed by a computer program which sends a BlitzMail message back to them suggesting a course of action as well as ways to help them quit smoking.
"It's supposed to be a dialogue between a program and a person," Maslow explained. "This is a resource that will help people quit who want to."
The program, called "Stages of Change," was developed at the University of Rhode Island and involves supplying smokers with personalized information about the process of quitting smoking. When the program has been used by other organizations nationwide, it has helped thousands of smokers to quit, Gaffney said.
The online survey asks questions which help the program determine which five stages of the quitting process they fall into -- pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action or maintenance.
The survey also takes into account respondents' answers to questions that determine when and where they are most likely to smoke.
Once students have received their personalized suggestions, it is up to them to decide how whey want to use the information, Gaffney said.
As they go through the process of quitting, smokers can take the survey a second time to see if they have entered the next "stage," and to find out what their next course of action should be, she said.
Studies have shown that smoking at Dartmouth has increased substantially over the past five to 10 years, mirroring a national trend.
In 1997, for example, a survey conducted by Dartmouth Evaluation and Research found that 49 percent of Dartmouth students had smoked within the past year, compared to 39 percent in 1996. Corroborating those statistics, director of Nobacco Kate Coburn, who is also involved with the tobacco cessation program at DHMC, said that over the past few years she has seen the number of Dartmouth students who approach her about wanting to quit smoking rise from almost zero to 20 or 30 per year.
Nobacco is a Dartmouth organization that seeks to educate people about the dangers of smoking, and provides funds to sponsor smoke-free events on campus.
Nobacco members put up posters around campus and sent students mass Blitzes during Winter term requesting them to take the survey.
