Local Students Participate in Great American Smokeout

Gulf County S.W.A.T. students want to make a point.

Port St. Joe Middle School S.W.A.T. students will be outside the Piggly Wiggly Thursday, Nov. 19 to remind people about the Great American Smokeout that day, and the dangers of tobacco use. About 30 students participate in the Port St. Joe Middle School S.W.A.T. program, according to Minnie Likely, the group's coordinator. S.W.A.T. stands for Students Working Against Tobacco.

Three chapters of Wewahitchka S.W.A.T. will hold activities throughout the day on their school campuses. They are Wewahitchka High School S.W.A.T. (Daphne Lister, coordinator); Wewa Middle School S.W.A.T. (Lana Harrison, coordinator), and Wewahitchka Elementary School S.W.A.T. (Melanie Hinote, coordinator). In some way each of the SWAT chapters will visually and symbolically represent the 88 people who die every day nationwide from tobacco related illnesses.

The Smokeout challenges Floridians to stop using all tobacco for 24 hours, or commit to a specific plan to become permanently smoke-free.

The Florida Department of Health, Tobacco Free Florida, and numerous non-smoking groups like local SWAT chapters, are celebrating the thirty-fourth Great American Smokeout as part of the annual nationwide event on Nov. 19. The Smokeout, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, encourages people to stop using tobacco, raises awareness on the dangers of smoking, and offers a multitude of ways to quit smoking permanently.

Tobacco Free Florida is the statewide youth prevention and adult cessation campaign started in February 2008, created to educate the public about the dangers of all tobacco use and to help people quit using and break the cycle of addiction.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 28,700 adult deaths per year in Florida can be attributed to smoking.

People interested in quitting tobacco use can call the Florida Quitline for free counseling and nicotine replacement therapies for those who qualify (while supplies last).

Visit www.floridaquitline.com <http://www.floridaquitline.com/>  or call 1-877-U-CAN-NOW (1-877-822-6669) for more information.