Kaiser Permanente announced it will take part in the 34th Annual Great American Smokeout on Thursday, November 19, 2009. All medical office buildings in Kaiser Permanente’s Georgia Region will have tables with information and advice to encourage members to quit smoking.

Developed by the American Cancer Society, the Great American Smokeout is a program to encourage smokers to commit to a long-term plan to quit smoking for good.

In addition and beyond the Great American Smokeout, Kaiser Permanente offers free support to help its members commit to quitting smoking: The Web site www.kp.org offers Breathe™, an award-winning online program that can help members create a personalized quitting plan. The program can be found under “Health & Wellness/Live Healthy.” Also, The Georgia Tobacco Quit Line for Life is a toll-free resource to help quit tobacco. The number is 877-270-7867. Finally, members can e-mail their Kaiser Permanente physician any questions about smoking cessation.

By thinking about quitting, smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life – one that can lead to reducing cancer risk and living a longer life. Research shows that people who stop smoking before age 50 can cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half compared with those who continue to smoke. Some of the health effects of quitting are almost instant, too -- heart rate and blood pressure drop 20 minutes after quitting.

Quitting smoking also saves money. State and federal cigarette taxes continue to go up and in some places, a pack of cigarettes can cost $10. Even if a pack costs about $5, smoking one pack per day adds up to $1,800 each year.