The 29th annual Great American Smokeout is Thursday. The American Cancer Society is urging people who smoke to give up the habit for a day and then try to make it permanent.

"Cigarette smoking is accountable for 30 percent of all cancer. And we know that ten kinds of cancer are directly related to smoking, also heart disease, stroke, cataracts, and aneurysms. The list goes on and on," said Betty Lou Jones, a volunteer with the American Cancer Society.

So the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Diabetes Association, and health organizations worldwide promote stop smoking as a means to be one of the best things you can do for your health.

Jones says one in four Americans smoke. She said those who don't can be an encouragement to their loved ones as they try to kick the habit.