Great American Smoke Out!!

The American Cancer Society is marking the 38th Great American Smokeout on November 16th by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit. By quitting — even for one day — smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life – one that can lead to reducing cancer risk.

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet about 43.8 million Americans still smoke cigarettes — Nearly 1 in every 5 adults.

About 36.5 million Americans still smoke cigarettes, and tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the world. While cigarette smoking rates have dropped, cigar, pipe, electronic devices and hookah – other dangerous and addictive ways to smoke tobacco – are very much on the rise. Smoking kills people – there’s no “safe” way to smoke tobacco.

Quitting smoking has immediate and long-term benefits at any age. Quitting is hard, but you can increase your chances of success with help. Getting help through counseling or medications can double or triple the chances of quitting successfully. Call the Montana Quit Line today or on the Great American Smoke Out! Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or log onto http://www.QuitNowMontana.com to learn more about the free counseling and benefits that are waiting for you.

Montana Facts and Figures

Four Montanans die every day from tobacco-related diseases.

• Every year, Montanans pay more than $277 million in medical expenditures attributable to smoking; and businesses pay more than $305 million in lost productivity due to illness and time off.

• Every pack of cigarettes purchased in Montana costs society about $4.44—half in medical costs and half in lost productivity.

• Sixteen percent of all adults in Montana smoke, and 46% of American Indian adults in Montana smoke. (ATS, 2009)

• Montana adult males use spit tobacco at a rate that is almost double the national average (13% compared to 8%). (ATS, 2009)

• The diseases caused by tobacco addiction remain the leading causes of death in the United States and in Montana, claiming the lives of an average of four Montanans each day.