[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 177 (Thursday, November 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY AND THE 31ST GREAT AMERICAN 
                                SMOKEOUT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. LOIS CAPPS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 15, 2007

  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I rise to commend the American Cancer 
Society and recognize today, November 15th, as the 31st anniversary of 
the Great American Smokeout. Across the country, smokers will mark this 
annual event by cutting back, forsaking cigarettes for the day, or 
perhaps quitting altogether.
  Tragically, more than 440,000 people in America die each year from 
tobacco related diseases. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer 
death in both men and women--accounting for one in five deaths in the 
United States. Despite these statistics, however, there is promising 
news about the significant health effects of quitting. In 1990 the U.S. 
Surgeon General reported that people who quit smoking, regardless of 
age, live longer than people who continue to smoke. Quitting smoking 
substantially decreases the risk of 15 types of cancer and other major 
diseases, including lung, laryngeal, esophageal, oral, pancreatic, 
bladder, and cervical cancers. Smokers who quit before age 50 cut their 
risk of dying in the next 15 years in half, compared with those who 
continue to smoke.
  In addition to encouraging smokers to make a plan to quit, the Great 
American Smokeout is a day for Americans to join the American Cancer 
Society and its sister advocacy organization, the American Cancer 
Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) in their efforts to advocate 
for smoke-free laws in communities nationwide. The combination of 
smoke-free communities and smoking cessation support is critical to 
helping smokers quit and stay tobacco-free.
  The American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout grew out of a 
1971 event in Randolph, MA, during which Arthur P. Mullaney asked 
people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would 
have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund. In 1974, 
Lynn R. Smith, editor of the Monticello Times in Minnesota, spearheaded 
the state's first D-Day, or Don't Smoke Day. The idea caught on, and on 
November 18, 1976, the California Division of the American Cancer 
Society succeeded in getting nearly 1 million smokers to quit for the 
day. That California event marked the first Great American Smokeout, 
which went nationwide the next year.
  The Great American Smokeout is part of the American Cancer Society 
Great American Health Challenge, a year-round initiative that 
encourages Americans to adopt healthy lifestyles to reduce their risk 
of cancer.
  Madam Speaker, as a nurse, I know firsthand the significant health 
dangers inflicted by smoking. I am honored to acknowledge the American 
Cancer Society and their annual Great American Smokeout today. I wish 
them great success in pursuing their goal to assist those who wish to 
improve their health by quitting smoking.

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