Why not quit smoking for a day?

That’s part of the idea of Thursday’s Great American Smokeout: To try being smoke-free for just 24 hours to give it a try.

This is the 37th year of the event, that the American Cancer Society says quitting even for a day reduces the risk of cancer.

“Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U.S.,” according to the cancer society, “yet about 43.8 million Americans still smoke cigarettes.” That’s almost one out of five adults.

Quitting smoking isn’t easy, but it’s doable, especially with help. We would run through all the economics of quitting smoking, but the fact is, if you are a smoker, you know exactly how expensive it is. And you know how damaging to your health it is. And you know whether you want to quit.

No matter your age, you know that quitting now will help you to feel better and live longer. It’s not a shortage of information about smoking that stops people from quitting. It’s just sometimes difficult to take that first step.

Luckily, wanting to quit is a big step toward quitting. Another: Try it. Just for today, why not quit smoking?

Help is available to keep on quitting if you want to, after today. You can go to the American Cancer Society’s website at www.cancer.org for ideas, or, of course, talk to your own health care provider.

This would be a fine day to take that first step.