Health Promotion Office hosts the Great American Smokeout at UH Mānoa

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Kristen Scholly, 808-956-8060
University Health Services Health Promotion
Lisa Kehl, 808-956-8060
University Health Services Health Promotion
Posted: Nov 10, 2010

The Health Promotion Office of University Health Services - Mānoa is hosting the American Cancer Society’s “Great American Smokeout” health fair this year. The Great American Smokeout will be held on Thursday, November 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at UH Mānoa Campus Center.

The American Cancer Society marks the 35th Great American Smokeout on November 18 by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day.  By doing so, smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life. 
 
The Great American Smoke out provides an atmosphere for sharing and learning about alternatives to smoking through healthy lifestyle choices and showcases the various services and resources available on the Mānoa campus and within the community. Community and campus organizations will be volunteering to help educate students about the effects of tobacco through interactive games and displays.
 
This year’s participants include: the Quitline, Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi, UH Mānoa School of Dental Hygiene, the American Cancer Society, and the UH Leisure Center. In addition, the Hawai‘i Bone Marrow Donor Registry will also be on-hand to  sign up new volunteers for the national registry. This year’s theme is Clean `Aina, Clean Air. There will be free slushies, an iPod nano giveaway and other prizes, and lots of healthy alternatives to smoking. 
 
Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. Smoking accounts for $193 billion in health care expenditures and productivity losses, and claims more lives than car crashes, homicides, suicides, fires, AIDS and alcohol and other drug use combined.  According to the American Cancer Society, many college age students have smoked for years because they started as teenagers.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that each day about 4,000 persons under the age of 18 try their first cigarette and more than 1,140 persons in this age group become daily smokers.  Additionally, secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the country.
 
For more information, please contact Lisa Kehl or Kristen Scholly at 956-8060.