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The American Cancer Society 2002 Great American Smokeout: Reaching out to smokers

Society asks millions not to light up for the day

(CITY, state) — Nov. XX, 2002 — In a year when new taxes, new restrictions and new studies on the deadly effects of tobacco have given smokers new incentives to quit, the American Cancer Society is hoping to get nearly ten million smokers to participate in the 2002 Great American Smokeout® on November 21.

Epidemiological studies show 70 percent of the estimated 47 million smokers in the U.S. say they want to quit. But in any year, only about 45 percent make the effort, and fewer than three percent quit. Last year, one in five smokers participated in the Smokeout, either smoking less or not smoking at all for the day.

This year the Society, the nation’s leading voluntary health agency, invites smokers to quit for the day or for good on Nov. 21 and offers support for those who try. Smokers who are ready to quit can visit www.cancer.org or call 1-800-ACS-2345 to learn more about self-help materials, medications, and tips that can double their chances of quitting successfully. In some areas, a special phone counseling program, called Quitline® is now available, as well. [STATES WITH QUITLINE® PROGRAMS SHOULD INCLUDE PHONE NUMBER AND SPECIFIC DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM].

The 2002 Great American Smokeout reflects more than two and a half decades of dramatic changes in the way Americans view tobacco promotion and use. The Smokeout highlights the successful efforts to point out the dangers of tobacco use, the challenges of quitting and the new resources available to help smokers break their addiction.

Significant progress has been made in reducing tobacco use since the first Great American Smokeout in 1977. Still, the latest statistics show tobacco remains one of America’s top health threats:

Thirty percent of all cancer deaths and 87 percent of lung cancer deaths can be attributed to tobacco.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women.
Lung cancer is the single most preventable form of cancer.
Lung cancer estimates for 2002:

New cases – 169,400
Deaths – 154,900
Overall five-year lung cancer survival rate – 15 percent
Five-year survival rate for localized cancer (cancer that had not spread to additional sites within the body at time of diagnosis) – 48 percent

The 1999 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) estimated that 46.5 million adults were current cigarette smokers.

· Each year, secondhand smoke may be responsible for about 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmoking adults and an additional 35,000 to 40,000 cases of heart disease in nonsmokers.

· Over 80 percent of smokers began smoking before age 18

· Thirty-five percent had become daily smokers by age 18.

In 2002, there were high-profile efforts to pass new smoking bans, most notably in New York City and Florida, as well as successful efforts in nearly two-dozen states to raise cigarette taxes. There were also new studies linking tobacco use to cancers of the stomach and breast, as well as data showing secondhand smoke raises the risk of breast cancer in non-smokers.

[INSERT PARAGRAPH ABOUT LOCAL/DIVISION PROGRAMS OR ADVOCANY INITIATIVES IF APPROPRIATE]

“Every year, we push smoking a little bit further out of the mainstream,” said [INSERT NAME OF LOCAL SPOKESPERSON]. “At the same time, we want to remind people during the Great American Smokeout that we’re anti-smoking; not anti-smoker. We’re here for smokers when they’re ready to quit.”

The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout grew out of a 1971 event in Randolph, Mass., when Arthur P. Mullaney asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund. In 1974, Lynn R. Smith, editor of the Monticello Times in Minnesota, spearheaded the state’s first D-Day, or Don’t Smoke Day. The idea caught on, and on November 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 Smokeout, an event that went nationwide the following year, in 1977.

The American Cancer Society continues its efforts to eliminate lung cancer by preventing young Americans from starting smoking and offering tools and advice for those who want to quit. For more information about how to get involved in the Great American Smokeout, or for help quitting, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.

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