Great American Smokeout Day!

Today is the 33rd Great American Smokeout, and the American Cancer Society continues its legacy of providing free resources to help smokers quit. The Great American Smokeout was inaugurated in 1976 to inspire and encourage smokers to quit for one day. Now, 44.2 percent of the 45.3 million Americans who smoke have attempted to quit for at least one day in the past year, and the Great American Smokeout remains a great opportunity to encourage people to commit to making a long-term plan to quit for good.

Smoking is by far the leading risk factor for lung cancer. Tobacco smoke causes nearly 9 out of 10 cases of lung cancer. Stopping smoking at any age lowers the risk of lung cancer. People who don’t smoke but who breathe the smoke of others may also be at a higher risk for lung cancer. Non-smoking spouses who live with a smoker, for example, have about a 20% to 30% greater risk of developing lung cancer than do spouses of non-smokers. (Again, that's why I can't wait for January 2009 here in Oregon!)

Go to Great American Smokeout Challenge for more options. And...more information can be found on the Relay For Life of Hillsboro website too! (For some reason the link won't work... www.relayforlife.org/hillsboroor )