November 15 is the Great American Smokeout
On this day smokers are encouraged to quit for a day with the hope that they will quit smoking for good.
West Virginia University continues to play a major role in researching and developing programs to help people quit smoking.
WVU’s Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center is working with the Prevention Research Center at WVU on a new initiative, the Translational Tobacco Reduction Research program. This program brings together WVU scientists from various fields who are conducting research in tobacco cessation and prevention. The goal of this collaboration is to find effective ways to translate research on smoking cessation into practical solutions for the public.
A decade ago the Prevention Research Center at WVU created the Not On Tobacco, or N-O-T, program to help teens quit smoking. This program has had remarkable results in West Virginia, helping to reduce the state’s teen smoking rate from 43 percent to 27 percent over a seven year time span. The N-O-T program has been adopted by the American Lung Association. It is used in all 50 states, Canada and at U.S. military bases in Europe.
Through research trials on smoking cessation treatments, individuals have received treatment. These research trials helped guide techniques that are used today to help people stop smoking. For example, WVU was part of the pilot study for the first non-nicotine based treatment, Zyban.
November 15 is the Great American Smokeout, organized by the American Cancer Society. On this day smokers are encouraged to quit for a day with the hope that they will quit smoking for good.