The Great American Smokeout (GASO) is Thursday, November 19 and the Florida Department of Health in Orange County’s Tobacco Free Florida program is encouraging tobacco users to plan in advance to quit on that day or to use the day to make a quit plan.

The Florida Department of Health in Orange County’s Tobacco Free Florida program will be partnering with local businesses as well as the University of Central Florida (UCF) to host local events.  The following are the events taking place on November 19^:

• The Area Health Education Center (AHEC) will be hosting a Tools to Quit Class at the Central Campus located at 832 W. Central Blvd. on Thursday, November 19th from 10:00am to 12:00pm at conference room 2. This is a two hour tobacco cessation class that is free and open to clients, the public, etc.  Free patches will be provided.
• The Student Health Advisory Council at UCF will be educating and creating awareness of their smoke-free campus in their Student Union.
• Concorde Career Institute will be holding an educational event that is open to staff and students. 

The Great American Smokeout, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, is currently in its 40^th year. The observance raises awareness about the dangers of smoking and the many effective resources available to successfully quit.

“Smoking increases the risk of many diseases including cancer, heart attack, lung disease, and even early death. Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States.  Although quitting is hard, use existing resources to help you quit smoking and take an important step to protect your health and the health of your loved ones,” said Dr. Kevin Sherin, health officer for the Florida Department of Health in Orange County.

Tobacco Free Florida offers 3 Free & Easy Ways to Quit:

• CALL: Call      the Florida Quitline at 1-877-U-CAN-NOW to speak with a Quit Coach who will help assess a user’s addiction and help create a personalized quit plan.
• CLICK:      Enroll in the Web Coach®, which will help to create a web-based quit plan unique to each individual user, visit https://www.quitnow.net/florida .     
• COME      IN: Sign up for group classes at your local Area Health Education Center (AHEC) by calling 1-877-848-6696 or visiting http://www.ahectobacco.com/

For more information, please visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com .