LACONIA - On Thursday, many smokers will either quit smoking for the day or cut back on their cigarette use.

Many hope it will be for life.

The 29th Annual Great American Smoke Out is sponsored by the American Cancer Society. According to the ACS, as of 2003, 22 percent of the adult population are smokers, with 24 percent being male and 19 percent being female. Smoking is considered the single most preventable cause of death in society, with 438,000 Americans dying from the effects of cigarette smoke each year.

Peter Daives from the American Cancer Society said that the Smoke Out grew out of event when Lynn R. Smith, who was the editor of the Moticello Times, started the first D-Day, or Don't Smoke Day, in 1974. The event took on several forms before going nationwide in its current incarnation in 1977.

"Only about five percent of everyday smokers are able to quit and stay quit for three to 12 months, pointing to the importance of repeated attempts, multiple approaches, and ongoing support," he said.

Daivies said that combining nicotine replacement with a quitting program, it doubles the chances of success, while the American Cancer Society's Quitline is a clinically proven counseling program for those trying to quit.

"(The program) can achieve long-term abstinence rates of 12 percent to 18 percent in a single attempt," he said.

According to Beth D'Ovidio from the American Lung Association, 27.5 percent of adults in New Hampshire were users of some form of tobacco in 2002. In 2004, 28.6 percent of high school students in the state were tobacco users, and 8.6 percent of middle school students used tobacco.

"Research shows that people who have a support system in place are the most likely to succeed in their quitting efforts," she said. "It is also effective to set a 'quit date.'"For more information on quitting techniques, go to the American Cancer Society website at www.cancer.org or call 1-800-TRY-TO-STOP.

D'Ovidio said that the ALA offers various programs to help people stop smoking, which includes a program aimed at adolescents who want to quit called Not On Tobacco, a program aimed at smokers who want to learn what triggers their smoking and want to set up strategies to quit for good, and one program called When You Can't Light Up.

"More and more employees are adopting smoke free workplace policies," she said. "The bottom line is that a smoke-free employee is less expensive and more productive than an employee who is a smoker."

D'Ovidio said that this program is designed to help employees quit smoking by providing resources and support to remain smoke free.

"The benefits of quitting smoking are immediate," she said. "People who are trying to quit need to realize that it can often take many, many attempts. Never give up. In the case of a relapse, simply quit again."

Smokers who want to quit will often try various methods, such as cold turkey, nicotine patches, gum, or alternate methods. Rez Seyedin, who is the president of the nonprofit organization Smoke Free Society, offers a stop smoking technique that he says works without medication.

At smokefreesociety.org, Seyedin, a former smoker, offers his "Proven Stop Smoking Technique," which includes tests to determine your dependency on cigarettes, his technique and book on quitting the habit, a QuitKey mini-computer that tells you when to smoke, and a support system that includes e-mails and a support line.

Smoke Free Society was incorporated in 2004 by Seyedin to help smokers quit the habit and to educate children about the dangers of cigarettes and cigarette smoke. A former smoker himself, he tried to sell his book on his technique in 1985, but found that at the time, the society wasn't yet ready for change and his methods.

"It was a different time, with a different attitude," he said. "Back then it was a novelty."

The program works using three steps - the smoker has to be aware of what he is doing by identifying triggers that make him want to smoke, he has to break his relationship with his smoking habit, and the smoker has to have a support system to keep him off the cigarettes.

"People can take up to one, two, three or four times before they are successful," he said.

One of the keys to this plan is what is described on the website as a QuitKey. A little programmable electronic device, it's designed to tell you when you should smoke so that you can avoid the triggers that make people smoke, such as certain smells or tastes that smokers don't think of as triggers to grabbing a cigarette.

"It is estimated that Medicare alone will spend $800 billion over the next 20 years caring for people with smoking-related illnesses," he said.

People who go to the website will notice the donation method to getting the life-saving product and plans - the more you donate, the more steps in the program you receive. Seyedin said that the donations go toward educating children about tobacco use and keeping them from starting in the first place. He said that he is working with different organizations such as ACS and the American Lung Association to educate people and keep them from lighting up in the first place.

"More and more employees can't afford to hire smokers," he said. "Some are laying off smokers because they cost more money to employ vs. nonsmokers."

For more information on quitting techniques and free download of its "Proven Stop Smoking Technique" (a $40.00 value) the entire month of November, go to its website at www.SmokeFreeSociety.org or email them at CustonerCare@smokefreesociety.org

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