Guthrie Urges Community to Participate in Great American Smokeout

Since 1976, the American Cancer Society has hosted the Great American Smokeout, a public awareness event to encourage people to quit smoking. It is held annually on the third Thursday of November.   

Smoking accounts for nearly one in three cancer deaths in the United States. Smoking not only causes cancer, it damages nearly every organ in the body, including the lungs, heart, blood vessels, reproductive organs, skin, eyes, and bones.   

Guthrie’s Dr. Anthony Grippo, Assistant Medical Director, Section of Occupational Medicine said, “It’s more important than ever for smokers to quit. We know that patients with a comorbidity, such as a lung disorder, diabetes, high blood pressure, and others, are at much higher risk for having severe complications and illness related to COVID-19. Smoking only increases those risks.”    

For more information on how to quit using tobacco, visit the American Cancer Society’s resource library by clicking the following link: https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/guide-quitting-smoking.html