Although smoking is not allowed in any SF State building, smokers can be found hovering outside every building on campus, defiantly blowing their smoke up at the "No Smoking" signs.
SF State students cite several reasons for smoking: social acceptance, an appetite suppressant, a stimulant to stay awake, or something to do with the hands. But the main one is stress.
When Philip Ho came here from Thailand, he wasn't a smoker. He picked up his first cigarette when he came to SF State because "it was an ice-breaker." It was a way to instigate conversation with strangers, shyly asking for a light. But now it's a habit. He said he has "no motivation to quit" because he hasn't felt any effects from smoking yet.
Rachel Poole, a cinema major, quit smoking for four days last week. She started smoking again when her boyfriend left on a trip to New York and she started experiencing "separation anxiety."
"Finals are upon me," Poole said, fingering the filter. She is looking for comfort, she said, as many smokers are when confronted with stressful situations.
Heidi Ward, a graduate student in English literature, has been smoking for 12 years. Once, she quit cold turkey for six months.
Then she started smoking again when, "I started my own business and got stressed. I fell off the wagon. I started grad school and (the stress) got worse."
She hopes to quit smoking eventually.
"Actually I was going to try (to quit) again this summer when I don't have any papers and less stress," she said, stamping out her cigarette.
While students cite stress and the need to relieve that stress, a handout from the American Lung Association states that smoking doesn't bring actual relaxation, only temporary relief from tension caused by the need for nicotine. "Smoking actually increases your heartbeat and blood pressure."
The SF State Student Health Service offers smoking cessation support groups and programs conducted by health educators. Only two people showed up for the first support group, held March 1.
A number of pamphlets and articles about the dangers of smoking and ways to quit the habit are also available at the SHS.