Athens, Ga. – Registration is now open for the fall tobacco cessation sessions offered by students in the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. The UGA campus will be tobacco free starting Oct. 1. This includes all cigarettes, chewing tobacco and e-cigarettes.
The first six-week session—limited to 20 participants—will be offered to UGA employees and the Athens community. Weekly meetings start Aug. 26 and run through Sept. 30 and will be held on Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the UGA Training and Development Center, 315 South Thomas Street. Parking at the center is free after 5 p.m.
At each meeting, trained pharmacy students will lead participants through a group program followed by individualized coaching to educate attendees, develop a personalized plan and provide participants with the tools needed to help quit using tobacco.
The tobacco cessation program, adapted from Pfizer’s “Beat the Pack” initiative, can be used for both cigarettes and chewing tobacco. Each session will focus on tobacco-use issues such as health risks, reasons to quit, cessation aids, coping with urges to use tobacco, handling relapse and maintenance.
The session’s registration deadline is Aug. 25, and the registration form is available at http://www.rx.uga.edu/index.php/smoking_cessation. To register, fax the completed form to 706-542-6022, email the form to beatthepack@rx.uga.edu or call 706-542-5328.
For more information, see http://www.rx.uga.edu/index.php/smoking_cessation; call Kay Brooks, Ashley Hannings or Deanna McEwen at 706-542-5328; or email beatthepack@rx.uga.edu.
A second session will be offered to UGA students. Dates and times for the student program are to be determined, but the expected start date is late August or early September. Group classes as well as individual counseling are available to students. For more information, see http://www.rx.uga.edu/index.php/smoking_cessation.
