The third Thursday of November marks the annual American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout.
Every year the event encourages people across the nation to quit smoking or encourage someone they know to quit. The ACS says that tobacco continues to be the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death, and that sometimes it can take multiple methods for a smoker to fully quit. Nicotine replacement therapy and counseling, as well as guidebooks are good ways for people to quit smoking but Shelly Miller with the Allen County Department of Health says that the most important step for smokers to take is to pick a date and have a plan.
"After you pick a date, on that day then what you'd want to do is get rid of cigarettes, ash trays in your home, in your car, at work, wherever." But quitting is more than getting rid of ash trays. There is also some things you can do to make the mental transition of quitting easier. "Coffee stirrers, straws, toothpicks, you know things you can chew on, and they can also be t hat tangible thing that you can put in your hand because a lot of times people just want that cigarette there in their hand. Tell your family, your friends, tell people about it so you have that support system," says Miller.
It's also important to recognize your triggers and to keep any nicotine replacement therapy you may be using on hand.
