4 Things to Know About the Great American Smokeout

The Great American Smokeout is a yearly event promotes the act of quitting smoking. Taking place on the third Thursday of November, the Great American Smokeout is meant to be an opportunity for people to encourage someone that they know to quit smoking on that day. Even if they only stop smoking for that one day, it’s one day of being healthier, making it well worth the effort. The following are four things to know about the upcoming Great American Smokeout:

1. The Great American Smokeout began in the 1970s – The event has been going on for almost five decades and started out back when smoking was incredibly common and not everybody was aware of the health risks of smoking. The idea originated in 1970 when people were asked to quit smoking on a specific day and to donate the money that they would have used on cigarettes on a high school scholarship fund in Massachusetts instead.

2. The event has helped promote anti-smoking laws – The event’s success in promoting the dangers of smoking as well as promoting quitting smoking has led to numerous landmarks in the areas of environment, research and policy in regards to smoking. Over the course of the almost five decades that the event has gone on, workplace smoking restrictions were passed, smoking bans on buses and flights were passed, tobacco companies were sued over false advertising and the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed into law.

3. The Great American Smokeout is still needed – Even though the dangers of smoking are widely known, one out of five American adults still smoke cigarettes. Not to mention that 32 percent of all cancer deaths are caused by smoking. The Great American Smokeout can be just what a smoker needs to finally give up smoking.

4. Giving up smoking for a day can be beneficial – Even smokers who stop smoking just for the Great American Smokeout will experience a drop in heart rate, blood pressure and carbon monoxide levels in their blood.

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