The third Thursday of the month, November 17, 2016 marks the Great American SmokeOut – an event originated by the American Cancer Society to help encourage support for smokers to quit smoking and tobacco products for the day, and to start their journey towards a smoke-free life. Cobb & Douglas Public Health (CDPH) encourages residents to support each other by learning more about the dangers of tobacco, and utilizing resources to quit.

Each day in the United States, more than 3,200 youth aged 18 years or younger smoke their first cigarette, and an additional 2,100 youth and young adults become daily cigarette smokers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CDPH will be honoring the Great American SmokeOut at Walton High School this year in partnership with the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA). Together, CDPH and PTSA will educate the student body on the dangerous effects of tobacco products and encourage youth to make healthy decisions. For the second year in a row, CDPH will take over the Walton High School lunch block with anti-tobacco messaging and educational materials, including iPad visual simulations, visual aids and trivia games where students will be entered into a raffle to win a small prize for their participation.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 40 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 (from 42% in 1965 to 17% in 2014), cigar, pipe, 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.

But there are ways to stop. With support, current smokers are more likely to quit using tobacco products for good. Evidence suggests that users of the Georgia Tobacco Quit Line are 2 – 4 times more likely to successfully quit smoking than those without assistance. The Georgia Tobacco Quit Line provides free telephone counseling services to Georgians ages 13 and older interested in tobacco cessation.  Cessation counseling is available for all forms of tobacco products and the service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  A free 4 week supply of nicotine replace therapy is also available for adults 18 and older while supplies last.

To learn more about the Georgia Tobacco Quit Line, please call toll-free:

1-877-270-STOP (English)

1-877-270-7867

1-877-2No-FUME (Spanish)

1-877-266-3863

For Hearing Impaired:

TTY Services: 1-877-777-6534