Area and campus smokers will have the chance to put their cigarettes out for good today during the Great American Smokeout.

The American Cancer Society will sponsor the 27th annual event to encourage smokers nationwide to quit for life — by starting with just one day.

The national event focuses on getting smokers to quit for the day, in an effort to trigger a smoke free life, said Renee Lyell, cancer programs representative for the American Cancer Society.

She said the Smokeout aims to increase awareness of the fatal effects of tobacco on the body.

"We want to spread the word about effects of tobacco on the body and how it causes cancer," Lyell said. "Lung cancer through smoking is preventable."

According to an American Cancer Society press release, 87 percent of lung cancer deaths result from tobacco use. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States for both men and women — claiming an estimated 157,000 lives nationally each year.

The University and the Champaign-Urbana community are planning several activities for today's event.

Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) — a campus service organization — is sponsoring new events on campus this year. Mark Gajjar, Cancer Control Committee chair and junior in LAS, said CAC participates in the event every year.

From 1:50 p.m. to 2 p.m., CAC will simulate a Truth Ad, in which 25 to 30 people will lie on the Quad to represent the statistics of people who die in one hour from tobacco-related deaths in the United States.

Lyell said that this year, 75 deaths from lung cancer are expected in Champaign alone.

A "trade-in" will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Quad, during which members of CAC will ask people who smoke to trade in their cigarettes for a pack of gum or another small item which will have an informational flyer attached to it. Ross Trotcky, president of CAC and junior in LAS, said the trade-in will raise smokers' awareness of how much money they spend on cigarettes.

CAC will also speak to fifth grade classes at various Champaign-Urbana elementary schools to explain the negative effects of smoking.

Also, off-campus, the American Cancer Society will work with the Champaign County Tobacco Prevention Coalition to dispense free "quit kits" to area smokers. The kits will contain several resources to help smokers quit, including a "When Smokers Quit" brochure, an American Cancer Society comic book, stress balls, puzzles and water bottles.

Mix 94.5 FM will also assist with the effort by promoting and raising awareness of the Great American Smokeout on the air, Lyell said.

Lyell said Champaign-Urbana is below the state average of the current number of smokers, or those people who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, and the facilitators of the Great American Smokeout hope to keep this statistic down.

Trotcky said the most important message the CAC hopes to convey through the event is the importance of quitting right away.

"There's a lot of people out there smoking who made a bad choice to start," he said. "More research is coming out showing just how bad smoking is ... it's never too late to quit."

Although Trotcky doesn't know how many participants to expect, he said the CAC hopes to target thousands of students on campus.