Thursday marked the annual Great American Smokeout, a day the American Lung Association sets aside to encourage people to go nicotine-free or try to quit smoking.
Ryan Mulhern, a health project coordinator with the Center for a Tobacco-Free Finger lakes at the University of Rochester, says the campaign works.
“Having the Great American Smokeout and all of the different resources being communicated in collaboration on a single day, that's meant to help smokers say, ‘Today's the day I'm going to try to quit,’ can be a huge boost to that success rate,” Mulhern said.
Mulhern said there are many resources available to help smokers quit, such as programs at the Wilmot Cancer Institute, free counseling and free nicotine replacement therapy through a program called Kick Butts.
He also said a trained tobacco cessation counselor can be reached at 1-866-NY QUITS.
