Great American Smokeout

This is an annual social engineering event to encourage Americans to stop tobacco smoking.  The Great American Smokeout challanges smokers to stop smoking cigarettes for 24 hours with the hopes that this decision will continue on forever.

Evolving from a series of small scale initiatives, the first Great American Smokeout was held on November 16, 1977 in San Francisco’s Union Square.

• 1970 – Randolph, Massachusetts – Arthur P. Mullaney suggested people give up cigarettes for a day donating the money to a local high school.
• 1974 – Monticello, Minesota – Lynn R. Smith of the Monticello Times promoted a “Don’t Smoke Day”.
• 1976 – November 18, The California Division of the American Cancer Society successfully prompted nearly one million smokers to quit for the day.