A Look Back at Tobacco-Free Month at the School of Pharmacy

Throughout November, the School of Pharmacy organized a series of prevention, awareness-raising, and support initiatives as part of Tobacco-Free Month, open to all members of the campus community. This year’s event saw strong participation and fostered extensive discussion on issues related to tobacco, vaping, and addictive behaviors.

Workshops and discussion sessions attended by many participants

Individual sophrology sessions were offered to help participants manage stress, cope with the urge to smoke, and prepare for quitting. A total of 29 sessions were conducted, providing support to 13 people, including 8 smokers.

The street survey, conducted by the project ambassadors on November 4 and 5, involved interviewing 54 people—mostly students (58%)—about the difference between habits and addiction.

The Living Library, held on November 6 on the theme of “tobacco and mental health” in partnership with the Smile association, brought together 32 participants, including 28 students. During this first-of-its-kind event in Montpellier, a genuine moment of connection between books and readers unfolded, exploring the links between tobacco use, psychological well-being, and social perceptions. The satisfaction rate was 100%.

The booth dedicated to the topic “How to quit smoking without gaining weight,” held on November 12, helped raise widespread awareness among the public in the cafeteria.

On November 21, several events were organized:

• a body karate session, which drew about ten participants,
• a booth titled “Try the Patch,” created in partnership with the Objectif Officine association, which welcomed about 30 people interested in nicotine replacement therapies and smoking reduction strategies.

The month concluded on November 25 with a cigarette butt cleanup that drew about 20 participants. Together, they collected nearly 9,000 cigarette butts, highlighting the importance of combating tobacco-related pollution on campus.

An initiative that is part of the "What if we smoked less?" project

All of these initiatives are part of the project’s approach “What if we smoked less?”, led by the Faculty of Pharmacy and supported by the ARS Occitanie.
This project aims to reduce the impact of smoking and vaping, to support smokers and vapers in their efforts to cut back, and to raise awareness throughout the university community about the issues related to nicotine. It offers personalized support, regular prevention initiatives, and a collective commitment to improving quality of life on campus.

A collective effort

The Faculty would like to thank all the speakers, partners, staff, and students who participated in this year’s Smoke-Free Month. Their commitment helps strengthen prevention efforts and foster a lasting culture of health and support on campus.