Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Encourages Residents to Quit Smoking.

Smokers Encouraged to Utilize Available Assistance for 30(th) Annual Great American Smokeout 

LOS ANGELES -- URL in third graph, eighth bullet of release should read: www.Smokefree.gov (sted Smokefree.gov); and URL in third graph, ninth bullet should read: www.LaPublicHealth.org/tob (sted LaPublicHealth.org/tob).

The corrected release reads:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH ENCOURAGES RESIDENTS TO QUIT SMOKING

Smokers Encouraged to Utilize Available Assistance for 30(th) Annual Great American Smokeout

This Thursday, November 16, thousands of California smokers will take the American Cancer Society's challenge to quit smoking for at least 24 hours. Last year, more than 51% of more than one million adult smokers in Los Angeles County tried to quit this deadly addiction. Quitting smoking is difficult, and most smokers make multiple quit attempts before becoming tobacco-free. Quit smoking assistance is available to Los Angeles County residents year-round.

"We encourage residents who smoke to use this day to try to quit," said Los Angeles County Public Health Director and Health Officer Jonathan E. Fielding. "Tobacco addiction is difficult to overcome, and successfully quitting may take several attempts, but Los Angeles County smokers have many resources available to help them."

For cessation assistance, Los Angeles County smokers can contact the following organizations:

* California Smokers' Helpline Co free and confidential counseling services in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese by calling (800) NO-BUTTS. Hearing impaired services available at (800) 933-4TDD.

* www.TobaccoFreeCA.com Co a service of the California Department of Health Services with quitting resources, discussion boards and encouraging e-cards.

* www.LastDragLA.com Co information on Los Angeles County cessation classes specifically for gay and lesbian smokers.

* American Cancer Society Co cessation resources at (800) ACS-2345 or www.Cancer.org.

* American Lung Association Co quitting assistance available at [phone] or www.LungUSA.org.

* American Heart Association Co tobacco cessation information at [phone] or www.AmericanHeart.org.

* American Legacy Foundation's BecomeAnEX.org Co a nationwide service to help smokers quit, www.BecomeAnEX.org.

* www.Smokefree.gov Co resources, including online chat with smoking cessation specialists, from the National Cancer Institute.

* Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Tobacco Control and Prevention Co information and data on tobacco use in Los Angeles County, www.LaPublicHealth.org/tob.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing one of every three smokers. Smoking greatly increases the risk for many types of cancer, heart disease and stroke. Smokers are also 10 times as prone to peripheral vascular disease, or narrowing of blood vessels in the legs, stomach, arms and kidneys.

Smokers are not the only ones affected. Each year 440,000 people lose a family member to the effects of tobacco, and secondhand smoke is also a leading cause of preventable death.

"Quitting is the best thing a smoker can do for his or her health and family," said Fielding. "The more a person tries to quit, the greater chance of effectively stopping the addiction."

The American Cancer Society reports that quitting smoking can have immediate health benefits. A smoker's heart rate and blood pressure lower 20 minutes after quitting. Heart attack risk decreases after 24 hours and in 72 hours breathing becomes easier.

According to a recent County of Los Angeles, L.A. Health Brief on Smoking Cessation Efforts Among Adult Smokers, the overall smoking rate in Los Angeles County has declined to a historic low of 14.6 percent.

"While we are proud of the decline in smoking prevalence in the County, there are still more than 1 million adult smokers and we must do everything we can to encourage smokers to quit," said Fielding.

The first Great American Smokeout took place on November 18, 1976 when the California Division of the American Cancer Society successfully encouraged nearly one million smokers to quit for the day. The following year, the American Cancer Society began promoting the day nationally.