Smokers encouraged to quit as part of ‘Great American Smokeout’

Thursday marked the "Great American Smoke Out," encouraging smokers to go one day without cigarettes.

Erin Sinsigalli is the director of St. Peter’s Community Health Programs.

She says giving up smoking is hard, but people who quit for just one day are 10 times more successful in quitting long-term.

If you’re trying to quit, you can join St. Peter’s "The Butt Stops Here" program.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve had probably 1,500 people sign up for the smoke cessation program, and we haven’t seen numbers like that in over a decade," said Sinsigalli.

She says the number of people who are signing up has dropped a bit, so she’s encouraging smokers to sign up.

MORE INFORMATION: Help to quit smoking