Thursday is the Great American Smoke Out, a day dedicated to be the start of a journey toward a smoke free life.
The American Cancer Society says nearly 37 million Americans still smoke cigarettes, and smoking is the single largest preventable cause of death and illness around the world.
More people die of lung cancer than of breast, prostate and colon cancer combined.
Even after losing his father to lung cancer, Michael Hahnenberg continued to smoke. It wasn’t until his COPD put him in the hospital for more than a week that he finally quit.
Today he only has 30 percent lung capacity, but he’s feeling better than he has in a long time and hopes to inspire others to kick the habit.
“I was not going to come out of the hospital and smoke a cigarette,” he says. “I have friends and family, just people around me that smoke, and I want to say something to them, but I never wanted anyone to say anything to me. So that makes it kind of a hard situation. I wish I could say please stop, it’s not worth it. I don’t want to see anybody go to the place I did. I was very lucky.”
You can hear more of Michael’s story Thursday night on 9&10 News at 6.
And in honor of the Smokeout, Munson Medical Center is offering free turkey sandwiches to those who want to quit smoking “cold turkey.”
The event is this Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Cowell Family Cancer Center, where people can learn more about cancer screening, how to quit, classes and more.
The American Cancer Society’s eight-session Freedom from Smoking class is designed to help smokers break the chains of nicotine. The next class will start on Jan. 7, 2019.
More information on Freedom from Smoking Day and resources available at the American Cancer Society can be found at , or by calling 800-227-2345.
More information on cancer services available at Munson Healthcare can be found at .
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