Thursday, Nov. 19 is the 40th annual Great American Smokeout, which was started by the California chapter of the American Cancer Society. The Great American Smokeout is an important time to be mindful that tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.

While it is widely known that exposure to cigarette smoke is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide, current trends reveal that cigarette smoking rates among the youth are at their lowest in 22 years.

Thursday is the 39th annual Great American Smokeout, when tobacco users nationally are encouraged to quit. It is also very close to the first anniversary of the University of California’s full implementation of its tobacco-free policy.

Today marks the
one-year anniversary of UCLA going tobacco-free. UCLA joined more than 1,000 other colleges
and universities that have adopted clean air policies, well ahead of the
University of California Office of the President requirement that all of the
University of California campuses be tobacco-free by Jan.