About 100 high-school students in the St. Louis area are finishing the school year knowing they can tackle great obstacles, make sacrifices and reach a goal that will lead to a healthier lifestyle. All of them made the commitment to quit smoking.

Some who began the eight-week smoking-cessation program through BJC Health System were two-pack-a-day smokers. More than one-third of the students in the program say they now are smoke-free. The others have drastically reduced the number of cigarettes they smoke daily.

For an hour each week they have met as a group with a BJC community-school health educator at their school. The program ran at Pattonville Positive School, Hancock Middle and High schools, Lindbergh Academy, Cleveland NJROTC Academy, Seckman High School and Fox High School.

Through the support-group sessions, students not only learned about the dangers of smoking but also how to take charge of their lives. They learned how to put mind over matter. Willpower, stamina and self-confidence occupied their attention for two months. For some of the students, it was the biggest hurdle they had tackled as teen-agers.

The students learned the top 100 reasons to quit smoking