Helping your patients quit during the Great American Smokeout
Published by
Joan Heselton
on
For more than 40 years the American Cancer Society has reserved the third Thursday in November to champion the Great American Smokeout. The challenge to smokers is to commit to a 24 hour smoke free period hoping that will be the first step toward living a smoke free life. It also signals an opportunity for families, friends, health care entities and community groups to encourage and support those smokers to reach for a goal of improving health.
History of the Great American Smokeout
The first official Smokeout took place on November 18, 1976 in California, where the California Division of the American Cancer Society got nearly 1 million people who smoke to quit for the day. The event was inspired by two other events earlier in the decade. First was the 1970 event in Randolph, Massachusetts, in which Randolph High School guidance counselor Arthur P. Mullaney encouraged people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent to the high school’s scholarship fund. Later, Lynn R. Smith, editor of the Monticello Times in Minnesota, spearheaded the first D-Day, or Don’t Smoke Day, for the entire state of Massachusetts in 1974. Smoking was much more common in the 1970s, but the Great American Smokeout has helped change the public’s perception of smoking over the years.
Despite this perception shift, more than 34 million Americans still smoke and smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death across the globe. Today more than 16 million Americans live with a smoking related illness including those who will be diagnosed with lung disease resulting from 2nd hand smoke exposure.
How to quit smoking
Your patients may be able to get help quitting from their insurance company. For example, AllWays Health Partners has the Quit for Life Program, which helps smokers who want to quit find a quitting method that works for them. The Quit for Life Program offers free counseling from a tobacco treatment specialist, coverage for stop-smoking medicines with a prescription, and education and resources on quitting.
Studies show two out of every three smokers now want to quit. The Great American Smokeout reminds us that quitting is possible and with support anyone can take that first step to try.
Download a brochure about the AllWays Health Partners Quit for Life program
Stay tuned for tips on how to stay off tobacco on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by following the hashtag #allwayshealthy.
More Resources on Smoking
American Cancer Society
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
American Association for Respiratory Care