“Kick Your Butts” -Margot Ferron

Smoking causes harm from the very first puff!   Every third Thursday in November is The American Cancer Society’s 37th Great American Smokeout. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an estimated 45.8 million people (one in every five adults) in the United States smoke.   

That doesn’t include non-smokers who chew tobacco, cigar smokers and pipes.  Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths.  About 6 million deaths are related to smoking each year (1,200 people every day).  That doesn’t include the deaths due to second hand smoke.

More than 80% of adult smokers begin smoking before they are 18 years old.  Daily more than 3,800 people under 18 years old smoke their first cigarette.  Three out of four high school smokers continue to smoke well into adulthood.

Smoking causes cancer, heart and respiratory diseases.  It harms nearly every organ of the body and affects the overall health of smokers.  In fact, smoking kills more Americans than AIDS, car accidents, crime and drug abuse.  More people die from lung cancer than breast, colon, pancreatic and prostate cancer combined.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month.  Make a plan to quit.  Quitting isn’t easy, but it has immediate and long term benefits.   There are many resources to help you “Kick your Butts.”  The American Cancer Society provides anti-smoking programs, resources and support.  To learn more please call ACS at 1-800-227-2345.

For more information about Relay For Life, please Margot Ferron at 949/ 309-1235, gomargotgo@aol.com.