LEWISTON — Thursday, Nov. 17, will mark the annual American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout.

The Smokeout was started in 1976 to inspire and encourage smokers to quit for one day and is an opportunity for people to make a long-term plan to quit and to celebrate past successes, renewing the commitment to being tobacco-free.

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. In Maine, seven people will die each day from a tobacco-related illness. In Androscoggin County, about 24.5 percent of adults are smokers, but it is never too late for the smokers to quit.

The Maine Tobacco Helpline allows smokers to talk to a specialist to help them get started and will create a quit plan that is tailored especially to them. Call the Helpline at 1-800-207-1230.

If interested in learning more about quitting, join Healthy Androscoggin at the free Tobacco Support Group at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Lobby Conference Room at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.

The Smokeout is also the registration kickoff for Healthy Androscoggin’s 13th annual Quit & Win Program. Those who sign up for Quit & Win between Nov. 17 and Jan. 10 and stay tobacco-free for the five week program could win cash and other prizes. Healthy Androscoggin will also send out quit tips, and Tobacco Coordinator Emily Dooling can answer questions.

For more information about these programs and to register, contact Healthy Androscoggin at 795-5990 or online at www.healthyandroscoggin.org.