The Pack It Up club, in its third year at the Harrison School of Pharmacy, provides free resources to Auburn students, faculty and staff to provide the tools they need to quick smoking.
Kristi Laxson, Pack It Up president, said she hopes their work on and off campus will promote a smoke-free lifestyle in Auburn.
“There is so much opportunity to really impact the university and surrounding community positively. Smoking tobacco is a known carcinogen and in this day and age, with the dangers being so well-known, we hope smoking-related cancers and deaths will be something of the past,” Laxson said. “Our goal is to work toward this with our advocacy of tobacco-free lifestyles”
Eric Smith, health promotion and wellness services director, said after the university looked into Auburn as a smoke-free campus, they noticed this policy is something the student body and community would support.
“Back in 2010 a student wrote a letter to the president about encouraging the university to have a smoke-free campus and from that letter the request was really taken very seriously,” Smith said. “It was something people seemed to want to do… and in August of 2013 the university officially became smoke-free.”
Laxson said Auburns smoke-free policy has helped create a greater demand for a resource such as Pack It Up.
“With the university recently being re-assigned a smoke-free campus, the need for a campus-affiliated smoking cessation assistance program has really started to grow,” Laxson said.
Smith said Pack It Up deals with a broader audience than he does to promote a smoke-free environment.
“We work with a lot with students, but I know they work a lot with faculty and staff interested in quitting. They often work with the community as well, as I understand it,” Smith said. “They are also talking about taking their message to high schools.”
While Smith enforces the smoke-free policy, Pack It Up provides the resources to help people quit.
“I think more than anything the pack it up club is about the cessation resources,” Smith said.
Laxson said there are multiple resources Pack It Up can provide to the people seeking their assistance.
“Free counseling services for smoking cessation at the Auburn University Pharmaceutical Care Clinic, as well as ways to connect to support groups and other resources to lead healthy lifestyles are provided at no cost to students,” Laxson said. “Faculty and employees of the university are also eligible for free cessation appointments, as well as stipends toward nicotine replacement products, such as Nicorette.”
The Pack It Up program seeks to build a unique program surrounding each patients’ needs, according to Laxson.
“The Pack It Up Club centers each appointment around the patient, so no two appointments are alike,” Laxson said. “We understand each patient has a story and each path to a tobacco free lifestyle won't be the same. Each patient prefers a different frequency or number of appointments and we are flexible with specific patient needs.”
Laxson said patients are seen by both clinical and student pharmacists throughout the process.
“Each patient with a smoking cessation appointment is seen by a clinical pharmacist as well as a student pharmacist at the AUPCC and this is a great service on two different levels,” Laxson said. “Student pharmacists are getting real experience in providing care, while the patient is getting health services at no cost to them.”
Laxson said she enjoys seeing her patients commit to a new, healthier lifestyle.
“The most exciting part of Pack It Up Club is when I see patients make a commitment to a tobacco-free lifestyle,” Laxson said. “Throughout the appointments, the self-empowerment that the patient experiences is truly rewarding to witness.”
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