Ben Parks and Heather Valadez
staff writers

Quitting cold turkey is hard, especially before Thanksgiving. However, students and faculty have help through the American Cancer Society. Every year the American Cancer Society has “The Great American Smoke Out” (GASO). This event is scheduled nationwide before Thanksgiving every year to raise cancer awareness.

This event began in 1977 to spotlight the dangers of smoking. It is also responsible for instigating legislation on tobacco products. According to the American Cancer Society, the GASO was inspired by an event in 1971. A man named Arthur Mullaney asked people in Randolph, MA to abstain from cigarettes for a day, donating the money they would have spent to a high school scholarship fund.

Many Earlham students and faculty members smoke regularly. GASO encourages the students and staff to kick that habit.

Student Health Nurse Gail Miller of Health Services explained the event to be a life-changing opportunity for anyone that is seeking help. GASO has been celebrated at Earlham for about 20 years.

The event occurs every year in hopes of decreasing the smoking population. At the function a number of packets and background information is given out describing the effects of smoking on the body. Vital to the process of quitting, a step-by-step quitting manual is also handed out.

Freshman Courtney McCrary said, “Smoking is not an easy habit to break. I feel like I’m young and dumb and this is just another phase that I will have to go through, so why not nip it in [the bud] as early as possible?” GASO changes the lives of students similar to McCrary every year.