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 editor was the driving force behind a state-wide smoke-free day in 1974. Back in 1971, a Massachusetts man asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent to a high school scholarship fund.
November 18, 1976 was the first official Smokeout, organized by the California Division of the American Cancer Society. Nearly one million smokers gave up butts for the day! The next year, the Great American Smokeout went nationwide.
If you aren’t a smoker, you can still help the Great American Smokeout effort.
- Volunteer for your local division of the American Cancer Society.
- Help publicize the event.
- Support laws that control tobacco use.
- Help discourage children and teens from picking up the habit.
- Support a friend in their attempts to quit.
Research shows that people are most successful in quitting smoking when they have some means of support. That can be a form of nicotine replacement (like gum or a patch), counseling, support groups, and the encouragement of friends and family.
Across the United States, approximately forty-five million adults smoke. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone quit for just one day? Smoking is to blame for one out of every three cancer deaths and one out of five deaths from all causes. Nearly nine million people live with serious illnesses that are caused by smoking.
Don’t you think it might be worth it to kick the habit for just one day?