Public health advocates gathering at City Hall to Commemorate Great American Smoke-Out
WHAT: Great American Smoke-Out commemoration
WHO: Little Rock Assistant City Manager James Jones, Community Programs Director Dana Dossett, Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas Executive Director Katherine Donald, others
WHERE: Little Rock City Hall Rotunda
500 West Markham
Little Rock, AR 72201
WHEN: 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Nov. 16, 2015) – Thursday, Nov. 19, is the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smoke-Out, a day to encourage smokers to give up the habit. To commemorate the day, the City of Little Rock’s Department of Community Programs, the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas, and other public health partners will hold a pre-GASO news conference Wednesday, Nov. 18, at City Hall to discuss the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and to announce an initiative to motivate smokers to quit for a 24-hour period in the hopes that they give up tobacco for good.
Smoking kills around 480,000 smokers each year in the United States. In addition, 50,000 nonsmokers die annually from secondhand smoke exposure. According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined.
“We’re proud to support the national Great American Smoke-Out each year,” said Katherine Donald, executive director of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas. “Our hope is that smokers all over Arkansas will join with millions of other smokers across the country on Nov. 19 to make a pledge to quit for this one day, and start the journey toward a tobacco-free life.”
Among those scheduled to speak at the news conference are Little Rock Assistant City Manager James Jones; Dana Dossett, director of the Department of Community Programs; and Alicia Higgins, an employee with the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and current smoker. The media event will also include a testimonial from former smoker and lung cancer patient Grove C. West III.
The public is invited to attend the Nov. 18 event and participate in the Great American Smoke-Out on Nov. 19. Each attending nonsmoker is asked to invite one tobacco user to attend with them. On Thursday, those who would like to make a pledge to quit smoking – even just for the day – can make that commitment official at City Hall in the rotunda area. They will receive resources and support on how to quit, as well as a pack of gum if they trade in a pack of cigarettes, a small gesture that could lead to a big life change.
“Smokers may not quit permanently because of the Great American Smoke-Out,” Dossett said. “But they will have learned that they can quit for a day, which might lead to a lifetime as a ‘quitter.’”
About the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas
The Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas is a network of statewide organizations with a shared mission to prevent the use of tobacco in Arkansas. It has worked since its inception in January 1992 to improve the health of Arkansans by waging a grassroots campaign to increase public awareness of the negative effects of tobacco use. For more information about the Coalition for a Tobacco free Arkansas, visit arfreshair.com. For help to quit tobacco, call the Arkansas Tobacco Quit-line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
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