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advocacy Make today the day to quit smoking The American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout is taking place today, November 16, 2006. The event, in its 30th year, is an opportunity for the American Cancer Society to educate the public about the devastating health risks that are associated with smoking, and encourages smokers to quit for 24 hours. The hope is that quitting for the day will start smokers on the path to quitting for good. 
Along with urging smokers to quit, the Great American Smokeout encourages community members to find out more information about smokefree laws. Recently, there have been major studies discussing the risks tied to smoking and current smoking statistics in the United States. This year, the Surgeon General's report proved that there is no safe level of second-hand smoke and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there was no detected change in the smoking rates of adults between 2004 and 2005. The claims in these reports reinforce the fact that events like the Great American Smokeout are relevant in today's world. In the United States, roughly one in four adults and one in five teenagers are current smokers and lung cancer remains the number one cancer killer. Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in our society, yet almost half a million people die from tobacco use each year. This year alone, approximately 174,470 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S., and an estimated 162,460 people will die from the disease. Smoking is also associated with an increased risk for other types of cancer including of the mouth, esophagus, and bladder. It is a major cause of heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. During the course of the Great American Smokeout, 46 million adults have become non-smokers. For smokers to increase the likelihood of quitting for a day turning into quitting for a lifetime, the American Cancer Society offers the following tips:
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