A recent study conducted by the University of Minnesota-Duluth Behavioral Medicine Laboratories shows evidence that gender differences, in addition to other factors such as stress and dieting, may play a major role in smoking relapses.

While both genders show the same withdrawal symptoms, there are major differences in their vulnerability to relapse. The study shows women are more likely to start smoking again because of psychological side effects brought on from quitting, while men succumb to biological triggers, such as exposure to the smell of cigarette smoke.

According to an article in The Minnesota Daily, Mustafa al'Absi, the gender study's lead researcher, said men who are stressed have higher levels of the hormone cortisol, which is "very pervasive, affecting the brain, the immune system and the peripheral system."

"The most important aspect of this study is that when we treat men and women, we have to be concerned about how they experience these symptoms and tailor our treatment accordingly," al'Absi said.

The Quit and Win Challenge, a program sponsored by University Health Services at Penn State, claims to be able to do just that.

The challenge started four years ago in State College, but it has only recently seen moderate success among students. The program works to help students learn the skills necessary to quit smoking and stay away from the habit for the rest of their lives.

The program is run by Diana Ramos, a community health educator for the office of health promotion and education, and currently employs a group of student interventionists and undergraduate student volunteers.

It has recently undergone reconstruction in the hopes that success rates will improve in 2004. Before 2003, the program was limited because of a funding shortage, but tobacco settlement funds from the Pennsylvania Department of Health allowed for the improvements.

Students are asked to fill out a registration form containing questions, such as how many times the student has tried to quit and how many cigarettes the student smokes a day. The answers help the staff determine the best quitting methods for an individual and whether the person is even ready to quit smoking.

"We try to address the barriers that the students are facing," Ramos said. "We give materials and activities that target individual reasons for smoking."

Because of new changes and the specialized personal agenda, the program has seen an increase in student interest.

"We've been on campus for four years, but we've never been as active as we are now," Ramos said. "Up until 2003, the retention rate was under 10 percent. Since we changed to the new program, in our first sample, we had about a 30 percent retention rate."

The special program offered at the beginning of February currently has 36 students enrolled, while the ongoing service is expected to pick up two to three students per month.

Some students said they are skeptical about the program. They said they question whether it is effective, as well as the fact that it is so little known around campus. "It's a good idea, but it doesn't get enough publicity," Peyton Mait (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said.

Others attribute the difficulty of quitting to stressful lifestyles. Tara Bartle (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) is one such smoker. "I have trouble quitting because of stress from classes and work," Bartle said.

Mait said he agrees stress plays a role, but also attributes it to a lack of willpower. "[Smoking] is such an addictive habit that takes over your body. When you don't have it, you crave for it."