Nov. 19 Daily News editorial

This day could be life changing for the nearly one in four Cowlitz County citizens who smoke. It’s the third Thursday in November, the day the American Cancer Society asks smokers to participate in its annual Great American Smokeout by laying off the nicotine for 24 hours. The hope is that quitting for a day will put smokers on the road to quitting for good.

Quitting for good, of course, takes a much greater commitment than quitting for a day. Smokers rarely accomplish that goal in the first attempt. As Mark Twain famously quipped, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.”

The key to quitting for good is a willingness to quickly climb back on the wagon after a fall. That and seeking outside support and advice. Don’t try to go it alone. Let friends and family know you’re trying to quit. Telephone smoking-cessation hotlines. Use nicotine replacement products. Join a stop-smoking group.

Both smokers and non-smokers have a stake in this effort to reduce smoking rates. For smokers, it’s a matter of personal health. Smoking is responsible for nearly one in five deaths nationwide. Globally, it’s the number one cause of preventable death. For non-smokers, it’s the economy. Smoking impacts worker productivity and taxpayers’ pocket books. Washington spends about $1.5 billion annually treating smoking-related illnesses.

Statewide, Washingtonians have done a commendable job of cutting the smoking rates. The state’s smoking population shrank from 16.5 percent in 2007 to 15.3 percent in 2008. That’s the sixth lowest statewide smoking rate in the country. Since 1999, Washington’s smoking rate has been declined by almost a third.

Unfortunately, Cowlitz County is a different story. The county’s smoking rate actually rose from 22.4 percent in 2007 to 24.4 percent in 2008. That’s the highest adult smoking rate for the county since 2004, when 26 percent of the population smoked. Cowlitz County recorded the seventh highest adult smoking rate in the state in 2008.

Smoking is an addiction that consumes both lives and money. Kicking the habit is tough, but well worth the effort. Help is a phone call away. Phone the Washington State Department of Health’s “Quit Line” — (800) QUIT-NOW or, for Spanish, (877) 2NO-FUME. The agency also may provide free nicotine replacement products, such as chewing gum or nicotine patches. We urge smokers to put down that morning cigarette, pick up the phone and join in this Great American Smokeout.