The Great American Smokeout

The 2018 Great American Smokeout will occur Thursday, November 15th. The Great American Smokeout encourages tobacco users to make a plan to quit or quit smoking for that day. By quitting – even for one day – smokers take an important step toward a healthier life and reduce their risk of experiencing smoking-related illnesses. 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data for Nevada shows approximately 18 percent of Nevada adults smoke. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States and kills 480,000 Americans each year and is responsible for diseases affecting another 16 million.

Nevada smokers, other tobacco users, and those who use e-cigarette devices may be eligible to receive free medications to help with quitting. Medications made available by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health include gum and/or patches, lozenges, inhalers, and/or nasal sprays. These products and quitline counseling are effective tools to help smokers quit. Using these tools together is the most effective method for quitting than either method alone. Medications help smokers quit by decreasing urges to smoke and other withdrawal symptoms while quitting.

Call for yourself or encourage a friend to enroll with a trained cessation counseling coach at the Nevada Tobacco Quitline by dialing 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visiting these websites for more information: https://nevada.quitlogix.org or https://www.cancer.org/.

CDC reports quitting smoking:
• Lowers your risk for lung cancer and many other types of cancer.
• Reduces your risk for heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease (narrowing of the blood vessels outside your heart).
• Reduces your heart disease risk almost immediately.
• Reduces respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
• Reduces the risk of developing lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• Reduces the risk of infertility in women of childbearing age. Women who stop smoking during pregnancy also reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby.

The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health encourages all Nevada smokers to begin their own quit journey for this year’s Great American Smokeout. Quitting smoking is not easy but people can and do quit. In fact, in the United States today there are more former smokers than current smokers. A survey conducted by CDC shows approximately 70 percent of all cigarette smokers want to quit and research has demonstrated quitting completely at any age has lasting health benefits.