Great American Smoke Out held today
“If you can quit for a day you can quit for good,” is the challenge to all tobacco users for today with the 36th annual Great American Smoke Out. The Lee County Health Department recommends all tobacco users accept the challenge and meet at Centennial Park tonight 5 p.m. to discard their unwanted tobacco products and learn how to make the rest of their life tobacco free.
Students Working Against Tobacco and the Tobacco Free Lee Coalition invite users interested in quitting and anyone interested in stopping tobacco use among family or friends to toss their tobacco into a coffin at Centennial Park’s Pavilion and say their final goodbyes to the unhealthy habit proven to cause heart disease, cancer, lung disease and premature aging.
The Lee County program includes a mock funeral procession, humorous final goodbyes and a tobacco toss into a coffin to “bury tobacco before it buries you.”
Anyone interested and able to walk can meet at 5 p.m. outside Art of the Olympians, 1300 Hendry Street, to join the procession to the pavilion in Centennial Park. At 5:30 p.m. a satirical farce, hosted by the Rev. Ken Hill, begins in the Pavilion including an opportunity for former tobacco users and new quitters to dispose of their tobacco in the coffin and say farewell to poor health.
Tobacco’s addictive factors are so great people struggle to let go of it, said Brendan Donohue, tobacco program specialist for the Lee County Health Department. “We will have all types of quitting aids and counseling available for anyone looking for help.”
Bring friends, family and tobacco products for disposal. For more information contact Donohue at 332-9651.