|
Great American Smokeout --- November 20, 2008
Approximately 43.4 million (or one in five) U.S. adults are current smokers
(1), and smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke
result in approximately 443,000 premature deaths in the United States annually
(2). November 20, 2008, marks the American
Cancer Society's 32nd annual Great American Smokeout, an event that encourages smokers to quit for at least 1 day (in the hope that
this might challenge them to stop using tobacco permanently) and that raises awareness of the many effective ways to quit for good.
Smoking cessation has substantial and immediate health benefits, and smokers who use proven interventions (e.g., assistance from
a health-care provider, pharmacotherapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and behavioral counseling) greatly
increase their likelihood of quitting permanently
(3). Smokers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and certain U.S. territories who
want help in quitting can telephone 800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669) for free telephone counseling or referrals.
Information about the Great American Smokeout is available at
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ped/ped_10_4.asp or by
telephone at 800-227-2345. Advice on how to quit smoking is available at
http://www.smokefree.gov.
References
- CDC. Cigarette smoking among adults---United States, 2007. MMWR 2008;57:1221--6.
- CDC. Smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and productivity losses---United States, 2000--2004. MMWR 2008;57:1226--8.
- Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 update. Clinical practice guideline. Rockville, MD: US
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service; 2008. Available at
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat2.chapter.28163.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication. |
All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from typeset documents.
This conversion might result in character translation or format errors in the HTML version.
Users are referred to the electronic PDF version (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr)
and/or the original MMWR paper copy for printable versions of official text, figures, and tables.
An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371;
telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to
mmwrq@cdc.gov.
Date last reviewed: 11/13/2008
|
|
