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EDITORIAL: Creating more birthdays
Submitted by webmaster on November 19, 2009 - 11:01am.
If you smoke and want to quit, today’s the day to do it. Don’t fret if you didn’t know today is the Great American Smokeout and you’ve already had a few cigarettes. Anytime is a good time to quit.
If you give it up just for one day, you’ll be taking the first step toward a healthier life.
If you give it up for good, you’ll be taking a large step toward a longer life expectancy. If you’re 35, you stand to gain an average of eight years. If you’re 55, you can add five years. We’ll share more good news later in this editorial.
Those of us who work at newspapers have a fondness for this day because it was in the early 1970s that Lynn Smith, a Monticello newspaper publisher, came up with the idea of encouraging smokers to give up the habit — at least for one day — and perhaps even make a plan to permanently go smoke-free. By 1976, the idea was transformed into the Great American Smokeout under the sponsorship of the American Cancer Society.
The Smokeout, combined with an army of other smoking cessation campaigns, public education and indoor smoking laws, has worked. The percentage of smokers in the U.S. has plummeted over the years. In the United States, an estimated 26.2 million men (23.5 percent) and 20.9 million women (18.1 percent) are smokers.
But it appears the decline has hit a wall. A federal report released last week said cigarette smoking rose slightly last year, for the first time in almost 15 years. That’s why it’s more important than ever for those of us who don’t smoke to support those who want to quit.
If you live or work with a smoker, understand that only that person can follow through on a decision not to smoke. You can support that person’s efforts not by nagging, but by showing encouragement and support when your friend or family member does quit.
Tell that person that there’s a lot of good that comes from quitting.
