This year the smokeout will be held November 16, 2000. In 1971, Arthur P. Mulvaney created an event in Randolph, Mass., asking people to give up cigarettes for a day. In just five years, the event spread across the country, and the smokeout was born. Each year, more Americans try to quit smoking on the day of the smokeout than any other day of the year. Quick Tobacco Facts Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in our society.
Tobacco use is responsible for one of every five deaths.
Cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals, over 400 of which are known poisons, and 43 of which are known carcinogens. Within 20 minutes of smoking that last cigarette, the body begins a series of changes that continues for years. While an estimated 10.3 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately, 5.4 million people are not aware that they have the disease. Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy needed for daily life. Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations.