Today marks the 29th annual Great American Smokeout, which asks people to give up smoking for the day.

“We want to get people to quit smoking for one day and to see it as the first step to quitting for the rest of their lives,” said Matt DeLance, president of Colleges Against Cancer on campus.

In honor of the event, Colleges Against Cancer has been collecting cigarette butts from campus and putting them into two-liter bottles. Tables will be set up today in Cole Hall and Friday in DuSable Hall displaying the bottles. Students have a chance to guess how many butts are in the bottles. Winners get free T-shirts.

Members of Colleges Against Cancer also will distribute brochures on quitting and the effects of smoking.

According to Health Enhancement Services, nine out of 10 NIU student smokers want to quit.

“I think that people are beginning to realize that smoking is a bad thing and they just aren’t sure of how to quit,” DeLance said.

Students choose to quit smoking for various reasons using a variety of methods. Some students have quit cold turkey while others work on a more gradual method.

Senior accountancy major Brandon Shearer used to smoke. He quit because he was starting to notice the health effects, like becoming short of breath while walking up stairs. He also got into a relationship with someone who was against smoking.

“I smoked from the time I was 14 until just after I turned 18 and then I quit cold turkey,” Shearer said.

Sophomore psychology major Clare Blumenstein is a nine-year smoker quitting because she is trying to start a healthy family.

“I’ve been in the process of quitting for about three months. I have cut way down in that time and it has been a month since I smoked a full cigarette,” Blumenstein said.

Blumenstein said she tries to avoid smokers and chews gum when she gets a craving.

It is not just smokers who are affected by cigarettes. Non-smokers also have to find ways to avoid it.

“I’ve always been involved with sports and trying to stay healthy, so I’ve never smoked and I try to stay away from smokers to avoid the effects of second-hand smoke,” said freshman business major Chris Parke.

Health Enhancement Services offers a few ways to help smokers quit.

One such thing is The “Xtreme Air” Smoking Cessation Program, which involves students trying to quit and a coach who provides assistance and support to the student as he or she quits. If deemed necessary, a one-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy, such as nicotine patches or gum, is available.

Stop Smoking Quit Kits also are available every day at the Health Enhancement Offices in the Chick Evans Field House, Room 139, and at Health Enhancement outreach tables from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today in the Holmes Student Center. Kits include educational materials and tips for quitting and things to combat cravings like bottled water, mints and gum.