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Do you smoke cigarettes and want to quit?
On Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, you can join thousands of people who will begin their smoke-free journey with the Great American Smokeout, an annual quitting event.
To get help, enroll in Quitxt, a free English or Spanish texting service that turns your phone into a personal “quit smoking” coach from UT Health San Antonio. To join Quitxt, text “iquit” (for English) or “lodejo” (for Spanish) to 844-332-2058.
And, if you’re in the San Antonio area, visit the “Mega Lung,” a giant model of a human lung that shows the importance of the respiratory system’s most vital organ.
Step Inside the Mega Lung
The MEGA Lung is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, at the Neighborhood Place cafeteria, 3014 Rivas Street, San Antonio, TX 78228.
The event allows visitors to step inside the giant lung and learn about its various structures and functions, observe examples of lung trauma and disease, and view displays explaining some of the latest respiratory medical treatments.
The event is coordinated by the Mays Cancer Center Community Outreach and Engagement team at UT Health San Antonio and sponsored by Genentech, the South Central Area Health Education Center, and the Mays Cancer Center Community Outreach and Engagement Office.
For more information, contact Caroline Puckett, a research area specialist at UT Health San Antonio, at puckettc1@uthscsa.edu.
The Data: How Many People Are Smoking?
U.S. cigarette smoking rates have declined from 42% in 1965 to 13.7% in 2019.
But over 32.4 million American adults still smoke cigarettes, according to the American Cancer Society. In South Texas, cigarette smoking rates are high among Mexican Americans, ranging up to 25.7%.
Certain groups tend to suffer more from smoking-related diseases, including those with lower incomes, those without college degrees, and others.
The Science: Smoking Is Unhealthy for You and Those around You
Smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death and illness in the world.
Cigarette smoking causes an estimated U.S. 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths. Smoking is the leading cause of cancer death, accounting for 29% of all cancer deaths. Also, more than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease.
And that’s before we get to secondhand smoke, which contains over 7,000 chemicals.
Secondhand smoke exposure is linked to several cancers, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, and more.
The CDC indicates there is “no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.”
That is why Salud America! created the “Help Your City Adopt Smoke-Free Multifamily Housing” action pack. With the action pack, you can engage local leaders in exploring a smoke-free multifamily housing policy for common areas and individual units.
Most Smokers Want to Quit Smoking, But it Isn’t Easy or the Same for Everyone
Nearly 70% of current U.S. adult smokers want to quit smoking, according to CDC data.
More than half of adult smokers made a quit attempt in the past year. Among youth who use tobacco, more than half report seriously thinking about quitting and report making a quit attempt in the past year.
For Latinos, once they’ve started, they are more likely to keep smoking and only half as likely as whites to successfully quit smoking, according to recent study.
This is why support is so critical to quitting.
“Giving up smoking is a journey, and it can be hard, but you can increase your chances of success with a good plan and support,” according to the American Cancer Society. “Getting help through counseling and medications doubles or even triples your chances of quitting successfully.”
“Quitting smoking is a process, and success may look different for different people.”
Try Quitting Smoking for the Great American Smokeout
The American Cancer Society has hosted the Great American Smokeout on the third Thursday of November for over 40 years.
The event aims to empower individuals, community groups, businesses, and health care providers to encourage people to use the date to make a plan to quit. Or plan in advance and start a smoking cessation plan on the day of the event.
“The Great American Smokeout event challenges people to stop smoking and helps people learn about the many tools they can use to help them quit and stay quit,” according to its website.
The benefits of quitting smoking start right away.
In minutes, your heart rate and blood pressure drop. In hours, you carbon monoxide levels return to normal. Also, in weeks, you circulation improves, and coughing and shortness of breath decreases.
In a year, your heart disease risk falls by half.
You can increase your chances of success in quitting smoking with a good plan and support.
“Counseling and medications can double or even triple your chances of quitting for good,” according to the CDC. “There are many tools available to help you on your quit-smoking journey. Make quit-smoking support services a part of your plan.”
Get Help to Quit Smoking with Quitxt
Those who need help to quit smoking can simply turn on their phone.
Quitxt is a bilingual service from UT Health San Antonio and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas that sends texts messages to smartphones to help South Texas adults quit smoking. Messages help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, handling stress, and using nicotine replacement, if needed.
To join Quitxt in English, text “iquit” to 844-332-2058.
For Spanish, text “lodejo” to 844-332-2058.
Does Quitxt Really Work?
More than 1 in 5 Quitxt users fully quit smoking after completing the English version, according to 2017 data in the journal Health Promotion Practice.
This quit rate is similar or better than other texting programs.
The study also confirms that text and mobile-media service specifically designed for young adults provide a feasible and cost-effective approach to promote cessation, according to the researchers led by Dr. Ramirez at UT Health San Antonio.
“There’s no better time than now to stop smoking with help from Quitxt,” Ramirez said. “Quitting smoking is proven to improve your health, increase your life span, and save money.”
Explore More:
Quit SmokingBy The Numbers
24
percent
of Mexican American-nonsmokers are exposed to secondhand smoke
