The American Cancer Society wants you to take a break from smoking today - and hopefully for the rest of your life.

Today marks the 34th annual Great American Smokeout, a national effort to raise awareness about the deadly effects of smoking and promote ways in which smokers can get the help they need to quit.

"The idea is for folks to come together to try to quit," said Caleb Nehring, Senior Health Initiatives Representative for the Illinois division of ACS. "Knowing that other people are in the same boat as you, (there's) a better chance of obtaining this goal."

The first officially organized Smokeout event was Nov. 18, 1976, in California, where about 1 million smokers quit for the day. The event spread nationally the next year.

Lung cancer is the No. 1 killer among men and women in America, according to the ACS. Smoking ac-counts for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths and causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. In Illinois, 20.5 percent of adults are smokers and nearly 17,000 die each year of smoking-related illnesses. In Jackson and Williamson counties, the percentage of adults who smoke is less than the state average, Nehring said.

Nehring said he and members of Colleges Against Cancer, a registered student organization at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, were at the university last week to promote the event and raise awareness. The event was organized early because many students leave for Thanksgiving break, he said.

The ACS recognizes that quitting smoking is not easy: Only about 5 percent to 10 percent of people who are trying to quit are successful on any given attempt. The ACS recommends using some sort of support to help in the process, including medication, self-help materials, support programs and local and national quitlines. With the right tools and resources, anyone can quit.

"Smoking is psychologically addictive, as well as physically addictive," said Willa Addison, a public health nurse with the Jackson County Health Department. "That's one of the big challenges. A lot of times we associate smoking with something else that is pleasurable to us. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of work to break that addiction."

Said Nehring, "Every person's story is different. The biggest thing is to want to quit."

julie.engler@thesouthern.com / 618-351-5077