For nearly three decades, ACS has designated the third Thursday of each November as a day for smokers nationwide to kick the deadly habit. The organization also is encouraging communities support smoke-free policies designed to protect the health of all Americans.

"Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, where it is causes nearly one in five deaths," says ACS national volunteer president Stephen F. Sener, MD.

"We know that it is difficult to quit smoking," he acknowledges. "That is why we urge smokers to make a plan today to quit smoking, including getting the help we know can double their chances of success. The American Cancer Society urges all smokers to join the increasing ranks of former smokers, now numbering 46 million Americans. Our telephone cessation service, Quitline (1-877-YES-QUIT), is a good place to start."

Since its inception, Quitline has helped over 160,000 people, and is expected to field 48,000 calls in 2005 alone.

Right to Breathe Smoke-Free Air

The year's Smokeout will kick off with an event in Philadelphia, where ACS is actively involved in a local campaign to pass a comprehensive smoke-free workplace law.

ACS works with communities and workplaces across the country on smoke-free policies to reduce tobacco-related illnesses and to ensure that all Americans have the right to breathe smoke-free air.

Through its advocacy and public awareness efforts, ACS is leading the charge to pass smoke-free legislation at the community and state level so that all Americans have the right to work or dine where they choose without compromising their health and quality of life.

Currently, more than 2,000 communities in the US are smoke-free, including 14 states with statewide laws that limit smoking in all workplaces, bars and restaurants.

Tobacco Continues to Kill

The idea for the Great American Smokeout grew out of a 1974 event when Lynn R. Smith, editor of the Monticello Times in Minnesota, spearheaded the first D-Day, or Don't Smoke Day, in Central Minnesota.

The idea caught on, and on Nov. 18, 1976, the California Division of the American Cancer Society succeeded in getting nearly one million smokers to quit for the day. That California event marked the first Great American Smokeout, which went nationwide in 1977.

Today, the Great American Smokeout is perhaps the American Cancer Society's most recognized event. It has become a powerful venue not only to help all tobacco users quit, but also to educate the public about the importance of tobacco-control policies, such as smoke-free laws.

Even though smoking rates have declined since the first Great American Smokeout, tobacco continues to be a major killer. Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing 30 percent of the estimated 570,280 cancer deaths expected to occur in 2005.

Second-hand smoke is also a health hazard, causing 3,000 otherwise healthy nonsmokers to die of lung cancer every year.

The American Cancer Society offers support and information 24 hours a day, seven days a week for smokers who want to quit during Smokeout and every day, by calling 1-800-ACS-2345 or logging on to http://www.cancer.org/.

For more information visit: http://www.cancer.org/smokeout.