Start here to commit to your health

For some people, Thursday, November 17, is more like New Year’s Day with a special resolution celebrated across the country. The Great American Smokeout  is an opportunity for people who smoke to make a plan with thousands of others to quit smoking, not just for a day but for a lifetime.

By choosing the third Thursday in November, the American Cancer Society has made the annual challenge easier because it allows people to know that, on that day, they have support and they are not alone, in this day of strength and commitment.

Cancer.org/healthy explains:  “The idea for the Great American Smokeout grew from a 1970 event in Randolph, Massachusetts, at which Arthur P. Mullaney asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund.” For people who have smoked for any length of time, the struggle is real, but doing it with others makes it easier because it creates a level of support and accountability.

“Then in 1974, Lynn R. Smith, editor of the Monticello Times in Minnesota, spearheaded the state’s first D-Day, or Don’t Smoke Day,” the website goes on to explain. The American Cancer Society got involved in 1977 with the first official Smokeout.

The American Cancer Society makes it easier for smokers to stop by providing a plan that people can participate in together, developing healthier lifestyles and lessening the likelihood that they will develop cancer.

“The Great American Smokeout event is celebrated with rallies, parades, stunts, quitting information, and even ‘cold turkey’ menu items in schools, workplaces, Main streets, and legislative halls throughout the US,” explains Cancer.org/healthy. The encouragement from smokers and non-smokers alike empowers those who have committed themselves to quit and, with the help of The American Cancer Society’s plan, which is available online at their website (www.cancer.org) or by phone (1-800-227-2345), determined individuals can learn to conquer the addiction that has affected their health – physical and financial – and move on to enjoy a better life in a variety of ways.