REMSEN STREET -- St. Francis College students, professors and administrators were out in full force for the third annual SFC Great American Smokeout on Nov. 19.

Now, in an attempt to keep the momentum and help those wavering on the pledge, the coordinator of the event, Biology Professor Irina Ellison announces “Quit and Stay Quit Mondays.’

“The idea is to make each Monday of the year a reaffirmation or a recommitment to the goal of smoking cessation,� said Professor Ellison, whose research includes studying how cigarette smoking affects African-American more severely than people from other ethnic backgrounds.

People who pledged to quit at the SFC Smokeout were given a free six-week supply of nicotine patches and treated to food, karaoke and information on how to quit and stay off cigarettes.

The event ended with a talk by Kathleen A. O’Connell, PhD, RN, FAAN of Teachers College at Columbia University. Her talk titled “What It’s Really Like to Quit Smoking� was sponsored by the Metro New York Chapter of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS).

The Great American Smokeout has helped millions of smokers quit for good over the past 30 years. More information can be found on the Healthy Monday web site, the American Cancer Society web site or by calling the American Cancer Society at (800) ACS-2345.

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