Members of the Phoenix community received free entry to the Body Worlds & The Brain exhibit Monday morning if they pledged to quit smoking in support of the I Quit! campaign.
Body Worlds & The Brain and the Arizona Science Center have partnered with the American Lung Association to bring I Quit! to Phoenix.
The campaign aims to help people quit smoking by showing them what happens to the body the minute a person stops smoking, as well as displaying the effects of long-term smoking to the lungs and brain.
“What intrigued me to bring the exhibit here was the California Science Center preview,” said Chevy Humphrey, Arizona Science Center CEO and president.
When she visited the preview, she was struck by the exhibit, which reminded her of her mom. “I’ve taken care of her for the past 11 years,” Humphrey said. “She smoked for over 30 years. My daughter and I never really understood why she couldn’t walk (short distances), but now we get it.”
The display in the exhibit shows the degradation of the lungs and brain caused by smoking. Additionally, it tells the viewer facts about quitting.
A sign by the drop box where people who are participating in the campaign will put quitting smoking pledge cards reads, “24 hours after quitting smoking, your chance of having a heart attack decreases.”
Humphrey said she hopes to see thousands come through the exhibit and pledge to quit. “Last time we did this, we had to empty the (pledge) box and put it back out.”
Members of the Phoenix community such as Jack Cavanaugh, a part-time coffee shop manager, felt the effects of the exhibit.
“This is for me, for my quality of life,” Cavanaugh said. “It’s just hard to quit on a Monday morning.”
Sylvia Hayes, another community member, did not find quitting quite as daunting. She quit right on the spot.
Currently, ASU’s Downtown campus allows students to smoke outside of buildings.
Students say they already know the effects that smoking has on their bodies, but aren’t ready to give it up quite yet.
“I really don’t see myself smoking for the rest of my life,” said Shawn Russell, a freshman nursing student. “Both of my grandparents died from smoking. I’m going to do it while I’m still young and I can.”
Others, such as Kyl Ledbetter, a interdisciplinary studies sophomore, don’t think there ever will be a problem with their smoking.
“I think with the advances in medicine, lung cancer will be cured by the time I get there,” Ledbetter said.
Students noted that they didn’t really mean to start smoking, and that it “kind of just happened,” Russell said.
Although teen smoking has gone down from 15.2 percent to 11.4 percent between 2002 and 2008, according to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health report, the rate of taking up smoking remained relatively stable.
Humphrey feels strongly for a smokeless lifestyle, noting the difficulty of quitting and warning the public of cigarette’s incredibly addictive nature.
“Don’t give up if you’re trying to quit, and don’t pick up that first one,” Humphrey said. “No one is invincible.”
Contact the reporter at ztalieh@asu.edu
