It appears as though Dartmouth students are following the national smoking trend, which shows the greatest increase in smoking among women ages 16 to 24.
"When I arrived here, there weren't that many smokers. The first time I went to a [fraternity] basement, I only saw one woman smoking -- but now I see a lot more," Lauren '95 said.
Many students expressed disdain for the increase in smoking around campus.
"It annoys me," Sarah LeSure '97 said.
Others think the smoking habit is "stupid." Shannon Giles '96 said,"At first I wouldn't date anyone that smoked or drank, but that was impossible, so now I just don't date people who smoke."
As a result of the campus increase in smoking, the College Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs has decided to focus on other forms of addiction besides alcohol.
Currently the only smoking cessation program that exists is at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
"It is unrealistic to expect kids to take a bus all the way down to the hospital," said Janice Sundnas, the Women's Health Program manager. "We are interested in starting a support group/smoking cessation program on campus, especially for women."
Sundnas said she thinks a female smoking cessation program is important because traditional substance programs have been directed towards men.
According to Sundnas, female smokers have special biological disadvantages associated with smoking.
As with all addictive substances, it is biologically harder for women to break their habits, she said. Often, this biological difficulty is compounded with women's fear that they will gain weight if they quit.
In addition, women smokers taking birth control pills have increased risks for blood clot formation. They are also more likely to age early and suffer from osteoporosis, she said.
When asked if she was worried about the health risks involved in smoking, one woman said, "All I can say is pick your poison."
Even though many smokers begin the habit in high school, only 14 members of the class of '98 indicated preference for a smoking room on their housing applications.
"A lot of the new students do smoke but they don't want their parents to know so they don't say they are smokers on the housing application," Sundnas said.
Many other Dartmouth students began smoking their first year at the College.
Several smokers said both they and their friends who smoke did not begin until they came to Dartmouth.
The most common reasons people smoke are social and stress related, Sundnas said.
"It's the perfect study break," one smoker who wanted to remain anonymous said.
"They use it as a means to be accepted in a peer group. Smoking is similar to drinking: people start with one cigarette, which develops into a habit and eventually results in a problem," said Sundnas.
"Most of my friends who smoke only smoke socially -- like at parties," Mary-Grace Vendola '97 said.
When Dartmouth students seek advice from Gabrielle Lucke, the College's health educator, she recommends smokers ask themselves two questions: First, what is your relationship with tobacco -- what does it do for you emotionally, physically, or psychologically? And second, what triggers your smoking?
Lucke said she thinks everyone knows smoking can be dangerous so the focus should be instead on the barriers that prevent people from doing what they know is right.
