In 1998, approximately nine million smokers participated in the event, Heneham said. Dr. Gilbert Ross, medical director of the American Council on Science and Health, said that while the Great American Smokeout offers smokers an important impetus to quit, long-term cessation may not be as easy as stopping for one day. Even with a variety of smoking-cessation aids now available, only about one quarter of smokers are able to permanently quit. This is due to the powerful hold of nicotine. Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the United States, contributing to 430,000 deaths each year.
Tobacco contains nicotine, an addictive substance that makes smoking difficult to give up.
Not only does cigarette smoking cause lung cancer, but it is a principal cause of numerous other malignancies, such as esophageal and pancreatic cancer. More troubling is that the rate of smoking among high school and college students appears on the rise. According to a national survey, the percentage of high school students who smoked at least once in 30 days increased from 30 percent to 36.5 percent between 1991 and 1997. Educating our youth about the hazards of smoking is critical to reversing this dangerous trend. Kids mistakenly believe they can smoke for a few years and then quit.