Smoking cessation classes offered on campus Do you want to quit smoking? Well, now’s the time! UND is offering smoking cessation classes to the campus community. Class is free for NDPERS benefited employees and financial assistance may be available for those who qualify. Classes start Monday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.in the Wellness Center classroom, and will be held every Monday through Dec. 18. If you can’t make it to this session, there will be another opportunity in February, so start preparing yourself now to get on the path to freedom! Freedom From Smoking is a seven-week stop-smoking program developed by the American Lung Association. Professionally-trained instructor, Theresa Knox, will help each tobacco user to develop an individual plan for quitting. In the sessions, emphasis will be on long-term freedom from tobacco. The ex-tobacco users will identify the pitfalls of relapse, and carefully plan to prevent it. The program includes the latest improved skills for good stress management, weight control, assertive communication and exercise -- skills needed to help them succeed. The group approach teaches step-by-step methods to change behavior and quit smoking or chewing tobacco. The instructor focuses on positive thinking, alternative behaviors, one-on-one help, rewards and group support to help participants to quit. Knox is a public health nurse with 14 years experience. She holds a bachelor's degree in nursing from UND and a master's in public health from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She is the tobacco cessation coordinator at the Grand Forks Public Health Department, and has been trained in the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking Curriculum and at the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center, Rochester, Minn. For more information or to sign up, contact Theresa Knox at (701) 787-8140 or 151 S. Fourth St, Ste N301, Grand Forks, ND 58201 or tknox@grandforksgov.com -- Amanda Eickhoff, Coordinator of Wellness, Wellness Center, amandaeickhoff@mail.und.edu, 777-0210