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'Great American Smokeout' urges smokers to quit

Posted at 8:00 AM, Nov 19, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-19 09:00:55-05
It's being called the day where quitters win.
 
The American Cancer Society is proclaiming Thursday The Great American Smokeout - hoping people kick the habit of smoking.
 
RELATED:
Marquette University, along with 1,500 other college campuses nationwide, is going 100 percent tobacco free for one day. 
 
The latest data estimates nearly 20 percent of Americans still smoke cigarettes - about 42 million people.
 
The American Cancer Society reports tobacco use is also the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death.
 
Besides Marquette, leaders in the black community will be cheering on the quitters.
 
According to the Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network (WAATPN), 32 percent of African Americans in Wisconsin smoke, compared with 19 percent of the general population.