Tobacco-related diseases kill 419,000 Americans a year, an American Cancer Society spokesperson says. To decrease this number, the spokesperson says the society is holding the 19th annual Great American Smokeout, in which smokers quit smoking for a day.

Kevin Lister, director of the American Cancer Society for Southern Illinois said smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States and is responsible for one in five deaths in our country.

Worldwide, Lister said three million people will die from smoke-related diseases.

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Lister said reasons for the Smokeout are two-fold.

We’ve got two hopes, the first being we want all smokers to go 24 hours without a cigarette, he said. The second is we are working to educate kids about smoking and discouraging them from ever starting.

Lister said 3,000 kids start smoking everyday in the United States. One in three of those will probably die, causing the Society to focus some of their efforts on children.

That’s why we’re working to prevent them from smoking, he said.

Lister said in past years the Smokeout has been very successful.

More people quit smoking on Great American Smokeout Day than any other day of the year, Lister said.

Scott Jacobson, a freshman in civil engineering from Glenview, who is a smoker, said he thought the Smokeout was a good idea, however he questioned its effectiveness.

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It’s good. I don’t actually think it stops people from smoking, but it’s a good effort., Jacobson said.

Tyler Cadham, a senior in administration of justice from, Sherwood, Ore. said he believed the Great American Smokeout was a good event.

I don’t smoke that much myself, just two or three a day. I think it’s good so people can know they can go through the whole day without smoking, he said.

Lister said the Great American Smokeout is slated for Nov. 16. The event occurs the third Thursday of every November.