Today, thousands of Americans will snuff out a bad habit – at least for a day.

Thursday, November 16, 2000

Today, thousands of Americans will snuff out a bad habit – at least for a day. It’s the 24th annual Great American Smoke Out, sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

"The goal is to get everyone to quit smoking, at least for a day," Karen Freese, Mower County public health nurse said. "Everyone has to start some way, and this might be what they need."

Public health officials hope that by quitting smoking for just one day, regular smokers will quit for good.

And part of that is getting area children involved.

Freese has been visiting elementary school classrooms this past week to talk to children about smoking and to offer information the students can take home to their parents.

The reasons for that are twofold.

Freese hopes to target children so that they never start smoking.

"Kids sometimes have a lot of power to help their parents," Freese said.

She hopes educating children also will help their parents to make the right decision about smoking, as second-hand smoke is still a concern for health officials.

The Great American Smoke Out also was promoted at the middle and high school level as well.

The number of high school students who become smokers is on the rise. More than one-third of high school students are smoking regularly – that’s more than 4 million teen-agers, and 3,000 teens start smoking every day.