MACON, Ga. — Thousands of people across the U.S. are taking part in the "Great American Smoke Out" Thursday, November 21
It aims help people start their journey to quit smoking.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., the American Cancer Society reports.
Up until about 15 years ago, Donald Whitehead, a former smoker, habitually smoked cigarettes.
"During the weekdays, I probably smoked a half pack," Whitehead said. "On weekends, I might smoke a pack [or] a pack and half."
Whitehead always remained cautions of his families history of heart disease but said the consequences began catching up with him.
"I got to where I was kind of having a little cough going on," Whitehead explained.
During a Georgia and Florida football game in November 2009, he finally made the decision to quit.
"When I come out of the motel, I had about a half a pack left, and I took them and crumbled them up and dumped them in a trash can," Whitehead recalled.
It's a choice the American Cancer Society hopes more people will make during the Great American Smokeout.
The ACS reports a decline in long-term smoking rates.
The National Cancer Institute estimates in 2024, 125,070 people in the United States will die from lung cancer.
The organization also estimates it will record 234,580 new cases.
"It becomes a lot harder for you to breathe [and] a lot of people end up having to permanently be on oxygen from smoking," Steven Braun, a respiratory therapist at Piedmont Macon.
He said COPD is among the biggest diseases he treats.
"A lot of people end up having to, you know, carry around the tanks, or have a big concentrators at home," Braun said.
Whitehead offered this piece of honest advice for anyone who is considering quitting smoking.
"You got to want to do it. The doctor cannot tell you to do it and make you do it. You got to want to do it," Whitehead said.
You can find more information about the Great American Smokeout and tips on how to quit here: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/tobacco/great-american-smokeout.html