November 18th marks the American Cancer Society’s 35th annual Great American Smokeout, which encourages smokers to either pre-plan to quit on that day, or use the date to create a plan if they haven’t yet.
The concept started with a 1971 event held in Randolph, MA, where a campaign asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on them to a scholarship fund. In 1974 Minnesota held the state’s first Don’t Smoke Day on November 18. On the same date two years later, the California division of the American Cancer Society got nearly one million smokers to quit for the day. The first national Great American Smokeout was held in 1977. Since then, The Great American Smokeout has been promoted by numerous celebrities, including Sammy Davis, Jr., Edward Asner, Natalie Cole, Larry Hagman, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, Mr. Potato Head and many others.
While you can stop smoking on November 18, 2010, any day is a great day to make the decision to quit smoking! Whenever you make the commitment to quit, make sure to utilize the resources available to aid in the process. You don’t have to go through it alone!