Feature Story
The Great American Smokeout
On November 19, 2009, students across the nation will learn about the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. The annual event challenges smokers to make a change in their lives by smoking less, quitting for the day, or by quitting smoking all together. However, the Great American Smokeout is also an opportunity to encourage increased health education within our schools. Although many students may not be smokers themselves, smoking is pervasive throughout our history and continues to cause major health concerns for smokers and nonsmokers alike.
As recently as 30 years ago, smoking was commonplace in many restaurants, work environments, airplanes, and other shared public areas. Such a casual attitude regarding smoking led Lynn R. Smith, the editor of the Monticello Times in Minnesota, to begin D-Day, or Don't Smoke Day in 1974 within the state of Minnesota. The California Division of the American Cancer Society liked the idea and successfully convinced one-million smokers to quit for the day on November 18, 1976. One year later, in November of 1977, the American Cancer Society instituted the first nationwide Great American Smokeout.
The Great American Smokeout has contributed to a remarkable change in public attitudes regarding smoking. It set the stage for community groups and health organizations to expose the dangers of smoking and advocate against tobacco. Without such anti-tobacco efforts, many of the landmarks in tobacco research, policy, and environment would not have been achieved. The Office of the Surgeon General and American Cancer Society list the following historic landmark events:
- In 1977, Berkeley, California became the first community to limit smoking in restaurants and other public places.
- In 1979, smoking is restricted in all federal buildings in the U.S.
- In 1983, San Francisco California passed the first workplace smoking restrictions, including bans on smoking in private workplaces.
- In 1990, smoking is banned on all interstate buses and airline flights of six hours or less.
- In 1994, the state of Mississippi becomes the first state to sue the tobacco industry for 24 cases of tobacco related illness.
- In 1999, the Department of Justice filed suit against cigarette manufacturers, charging the industry with defrauding the public by lying about the risks of smoking.
- In 1999, the tobacco industry paid $206 billion to fund anti-tobacco programs, as part of a settlement agreement with 46 states. Cartoon advertising and tobacco billboards are also banned.
- In 2000, the US Supreme Court rejected a Clinton administration effort to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the right to regulate tobacco.
- In 2009, Congress approved the largest-ever federal cigarette tax, increasing it to $1.01 per pack.
- In 2009, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, providing the FDA greater control over the tobacco industry.
Not only has the Great American Smokeout provided the drive for increased smoking legislation, it has also spotlighted the difficulty of quitting smoking. The event makes the public aware of the following supports available to help them quit smoking:
- Nicotine replacement products
- Counseling
- Stop-smoking groups
- Telephone smoking cessation hotlines
- Prescription medicine to lessen cravings
- Guide books
- Encouragement and support from friends and family members
The Great American Smokeout is on November 19th this year, and can provide your school or community with a great opportunity to learn about tobacco cessation.
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