Great American Smokeout Offers Smokers Increased Odds of Quitting
The 37th annual Great American Smokeout, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, takes place Thursday, November 15 and experts at the Wilmot Cancer Center and the Greater Rochester Area Tobacco Cessation Center (GRATCC) stand ready to help smokers achieve success in their quest to quit.
While the Great American Smokeout is a one-day event, Scott McIntosh, Ph.D., director of GRATCC, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Department of Public Health Sciences, offers a surprising statistic that shows that abstaining from smoking on this day can have a lifelong positive effect for current smokers.
“You can double your chances of quitting for good when you practice by quitting for 24 hours, such as during the Great American Smoke Out,” McIntosh said. “Within just 24 hours, the carbon monoxide – which hinders blood from bringing oxygen to your cells, tissues and organs – will be removed from your body, and the mucus and smoking debris will start to clear from your lungs, making breathing easier.
The Great American Smokeout is an effort to help smokers live a healthier lifestyle and reduce cancers caused by smoking. Research shows that smokers who quit, regardless of age, live longer than people who continue to smoke. Those who quit smoking reduce their risk of lung cancer – ten years after quitting, the lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. Quitting also lowers the risk for other major diseases including heart disease and stroke.
The incentives to quit smoking are numerous and well-documented. Cigarettes and cigarette smoke contain more than 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known to cause cancer. Smoking and exposure to second hand smoke can be linked to all cancers, including recent evidence of more involvement with breast cancer than previously thought. Lung cancer, of which most cases are linked to smoking, is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women, and more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.
“Many people consider quitting smoking each year as part of the Great American Smokeout because they know smoking is bad for their health,” McIntosh said. “There are many resources available to support people who want to quit smoking.”
Smokers can get help in fighting nicotine addiction from the New York State Quitline, which offers supportive tips and information for smokers who want to stop. Call the quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS or 1-866-697-8487.
McIntosh urges smokers to talk with their physicians about their desire to quit and take advantage of educational and supportive programs they suggest. GRATCC receives funding from the state Department of Health to help doctors identify patients who smoke and encourage them to quit. Physician practices within Monroe, Ontario, Wayne, Livingston and Seneca counties can receive training to help patients quit smoking, and earn CME credits, through sessions provided by GRATCC.
Each year, about one-third of all smokers try to quit, but fewer than 10 percent succeed. However, if you track smokers over their lifetime, more than 50 percent do ultimately succeed, McIntosh said.He offers the following information and tips for people trying to quit: