Tag Archives: great american smokeout

Great American Smokeout 2009: Measuring Success

I read a very interesting thing on the American Cancer Society website about quitting smoking and how you measure success. Many people look at the success rates of a particular quitting smoking program before they decide whether or not to try it. But the ACS points out a few problems with that. For one thing: not all programs define success in the same way. Some may measure a “success” as a person not smoking for six months, while another may call reaching the one year mark a “success”. So before you even start, you need to figure out how YOU … Continue reading →

Great American Smokeout 2009: November 19

It’s Smokeout season again: the American Cancer Society celebrates the Great American Smokeout on the third Thursday of November each year. On a smaller scale, Smokeouts began in the 1970s. In 1971, a guidance counselor in Massachusetts asked people to give up smoking for a day — and donate the money they would have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund. A Minnesota newspaper editor organized the first D-Day (Don’t Smoke Day) in 1974. Just two years after Minnesota’s D-Day, the American Cancer Society in California got close to one million smokers to commit to not smoking for … Continue reading →

Today Is the Great American Smokeout!

The day is here! The Great American Smokeout is going on — are you kicking the habit for the day? If you are taking part in the Great American Smokeout, sound off in the comments to this blog. Let the whole world know that you are giving up cigarettes for today. It isn’t easy to quit smoking. After today, you may decide to go back to smoking — and that’s okay. But you may also decide that if you made it one day, you can make it one more day. And one more after that. I would love it if … Continue reading →

Alternatives to Smoking During the Great American Smokeout

The Great American Smokeout is just a few days away. Are you ready to give up smoking for just one day? Even if you are only quitting for a day, you may be worried about cravings and other symptoms of withdrawal. Distraction can be key! Here are some things you can do on Thursday when the cravings hit. Take a walk. Exercise can release endorphins — the happy chemical in your brain. Call a friend. Get yourself involved in a conversation and you might just find the cravings fading into the background. Chew a piece of gum or have a … Continue reading →

The Great American Smokeout: November 15th

One week to go. Mark your calendar for the third Thursday of November. The Great American Smokeout is coming! Since the 1970s, the American Cancer Society has encouraged people to take part in the Great American Smokeout. Sure, quitting entirely would be great for your health. But if you aren’t ready to take that step, maybe you can commit to not smoking for just one day? Show yourself that you can stop for just one day… maybe that will be the first step to a new, smoke-free life. The idea for the Great American Smokeout started in Minnesota. A newspaper … Continue reading →