In fact, cigarette smoking kills more Americans than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, drugs and fires combined. Yet, smoking is the single most important preventable cause of illness and death in the United States. That is why, since 1976, the American Cancer Society has sponsored the Great American Smokeout. This event, held each year on the third Thursday in November, encourages smokers to give up the habit for at least one day. Those who give up cigarettes will be able to breathe easier and their blood pressure, pulse rate and oxygen levels will return to normal.
Women are more likely than men to try to quit smoking.
However, an equal proportion of men and women have been off cigarettes for one to four years. Men are more likely than women to have been off cigarettes for five or more years. Blacks are more likely than whites to try to quit smoking. However, whites are more likely than blacks to have been off cigarettes for one or more years. According to one study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , Hispanics are quitting at lower rates than the general population.