Wednesday, November 18, 1998

Try to give up smokes, if just for Thursday

More Americans quit smoking every year. With nicotine gum and patches plentiful on the retail shelves, smokers who want to stop have never before had so much help available to them.

Many of those who succeed in giving up cigarettes start by making an effort on the annual day of the Great American Smokeout, the day set aside by the American Cancer Society to urge the nation's smokers to quit puffing away, if only for one day.

That day this year is Thursday. That's when smokers who want to break the grip of addiction to tobacco products can receive the moral support of thousands of other smokers who are struggling to overcome a habit that is one of the country's major health risks.

Although more adults are throwing out their cigarettes, more and more teens are starting to take them up. The American Cancer Society says each day some 3,000 American youngsters smoke their first cigarette. Of those, one-third will die of some painful cigarette-caused illness, the organization says.

Adults, even those who smoke, should be alarmed at the prospect of what amounts to an epidemic of teen smoking in America. It's not just an offensive habit. It's a deadly one.

That's why the organizers of the Great American Smokeout three years ago added the Great American Smokescreen, aimed at keeping teens from starting to smoke. Many local and area schools will be holding special programs Thursday to urge students not to take up smoking.

Giving up cigarettes is hardly as easy as deciding not to eat chocolate cake or ice cream. Studies indicate nicotine is actually more addictive than crack cocaine. Smokers who want to quit must summon great will power, even if they are to succeed for only one day.

If you smoke, try to give it up, for just this one day. If you've thought about trying the patch or nicotine gum, Thursday would be a good day to experiment. Tell yourself you can smoke again on Friday if you want to. But put out the effort - and the butts - for the day on Thursday.