Are the climbing prices of cigarettes urging you to quit smoking, or is it the numerous health risks? Whatever the reasons, the university is available for help.

University Health Services (UHS) is sponsoring the Quit and Win Challenge, a program held during February to help students who are ready to quit smoking cigarettes.

Health educator and program coordinator Diana Ramos said this year the program has been improved and offers more multi-faceted opportunities for student than in the past.

"We now have more funding from Pennsylvania State Tobacco Settlement Funds," Ramos said. "We have both group and individual sessions with peer coaches."

Sam Johnson (graduate-counselor education), an alcohol intervention program coordinator assisting with the group sessions, said the Quit and Win Challenge offers the support smokers often need to quit successfully.

"People are going through similar struggles, and through this program, they can relate to another student," Johnson said. "Smoking is such a hard habit to quit; it's ranked up there with heroin addiction. We really see stopping, even for just a month, as a part of the process of quitting for good."

Patrick Moser (sophomore-art) has been smoking a pack a day for the past three years. He recently made the decision to quit, and he has been successful for 16 days.

"It was absolutely horrible at the beginning," Moser said. "I told everyone I know not to give me a cigarette, no matter what. Their support helped a lot."

For Moser, the health risks and the increasing costs of cigarettes fueled his decision to quit.

Moser said he's not big on programs to help him quit smoking because he feels the decision is personal.

Ramos said because a lot of smokers know the hazards, the program does not preach but focuses more on motivation to quit.

"We try to give personal reasons, along with ways to prevent relapse by identifying situations that trigger," Ramos said. "Also, we offer relaxation tapes, nicotine replacement products and weekly carbon dioxide to help students monitor.

"For those students who are heavily addicted, smoking more than 20 [cigarettes] a day, we can refer them to an addiction specialist."

Though the program is advertised for the month of February, support for smokers trying to quit is offered by UHS all year.

"I want to get across even though a lot of investment goes into program, there is no guarantee," Ramos said. "Making the decision to quit is the first of many steps in the process of quitting for good."

Ramos also said nicotine use is a much more serious health hazard, and there needs to be more of a communication with the university in promoting a smoke-free campus, as students who are trying to quit find it much harder when they constantly see smokers all over campus.