Students looking for an affordable and convenient way to stop smoking may want to look to the Iowa State Wellness Center.

The center is sponsoring an American Lung Association “Stop Smoking” program. The program begins Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Student Health Center.

Groups meet every Tuesday night for a total of eight sessions, which each last two hours. “Stop Smoking” is open to Iowa State students, staff and the Ames community.

The cost for the program is $20, and it includes materials and a $10 deposit, which will be refunded at the conclusion of the program if all sessions are attended.

The groups use a step-by-step method to quit smoking. This method includes individual assessments of personal smoking habits, the tracking of cigarettes smoked a day and the mood it gives the smoker. During the program, each member also will take a quiz to analyze why he or she smokes.

Health Education Coordinator Randy Mayer said some students use cigarettes as a way to relieve tension.

“Most people smoke to relieve stress and/or to relax,” he said.

The program is designed to teach people alternatives for relaxation other than smoking, such as exercise and breathing techniques, he said.

“I’m going to try to bring in a yoga instructor,” Mayer said. “People forget to take deep breaths after they quit smoking.”

Along with the program, methods such as nicotine gum, the patch or even the prescription Zyban are sometimes used to aid in the discontinuance of smoking, Mayer said. For college students, he said the gum seems to work the best because they can carry it with them on campus, and it is easily accessible.

“Stop Smoking” also is designed to help its members wean off cigarettes, which is why members do not stop smoking until after three group meetings.

“For many ISU students, they think they can stop smoking after college, and they are surprised at how hard it really is to stop smoking,” Mayer said.

In the past, more than 90 percent of the program’s participants have abstained from smoking for a month by the last session, he said.

Mayer said the program works because smokers are coming into a group of people who are all going through the same thing.

The last three weeks of the program are dedicated to weight and stress management, as well as staying away from cigarettes, he said.

Dr. Malhar Gore, physician at the Student Health Center, said people greatly improve their health and decrease their chances of respiratory infection and injury to the respiratory tree when they stop smoking.

“It takes 10 years after a smoker quits to maintain the same risk for cancer as someone who has never smoked,” he said.

For more information or to sign up for a group, call Mayer at 294-2722.