Smokeout is November 21

Cloud County Health Center is encouraging the community to commit or recommit to healthy, tobacco-free living by participating in the Great American Smokeout on November 21.
Smokers are encouraged to sign a pledge to quit smoking for one day on November 21, which was proclaimed as the Great American Smokeout Day by the Concordia city commission. Family and friends are asked to support the person who is quitting by pledging to give up a bad habit of their own on that day, such as caffeine or candy.
Pledge sheets are available at the Cloud County Health Center.
Anyone who has signed the pledge, and is successful in remaining smoke-free for the entire day, can return the pledge to Cloud County Health Center and their name will be entered into a drawing for a frozen turkey.
More than 34 million Americans still smoke cigarettes, and more than 16 million live with smoking-related illnesses.
While the cigarette smoking rate has dropped significantly from 42 percent in 1965 to 14 percent in 2017, the gains have been inconsistent. Smoking groups of Americans suffer disproportionately from smoking-related cancer and other diseases, including those with less education, those who live below the poverty line or who suffer from serious psychological distress.
Quitting smoking improves health immediately and over the long term at any age. Stopping smoking is hard, but you can increase your chances with help.
Getting help through counseling and medication doubles, or even triples, your chances of quitting successfully.
The Great American Smokeout is one of the ways the Community Health Needs Assessment Committee is working to help people in the community live a healthier and happier life.
Members serving on the committee include representatives from the Cloud County Health Center, Cloud County Community College, Unified School District 333, the Cloud County Extension Office, the city of Concordia, The Cloud County Health Department, the Cloud County Resource Center, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the city of Miltonvale.
For more information or assistance with quitting smoking, contact the Cardiopulmonary Department at the Cloud County Health Center at 785-243-1234.