[media-credit name=’LUKAS KEAPPROTH/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The University of Wisconsin chapter of Colleges Against Cancer hosted the 33rd annual Great American Smokeout Thursday with an information booth at Memorial Union and chalking across campus.

Hosted nationally by the American Cancer Society every Nov. 22, the smokeout is aimed at helping people quit smoking through a day of awareness and outreach.

The CAC booth at Memorial Union handed out flyers and pamphlets explaining the risks of smoking.

UW sophomore and CAC member Amy Follet said the booth was also encouraging smokers to trade their packs of cigarettes for packs of gum.

“Research has shown that smokers are four times more likely to quit smoking if they receive some sort of counseling or medication as opposed to quitting alone,” Follet said.

The CAC, in combination with the UW Carbone Cancer Center, also hosted a panel discussion by lung cancer experts, survivors and doctors at the West Side Marriott last night highlighting the dangers of secondhand smoke.

UW senior Carly Greenstein, the director of mission delivery for the CAC, organized and led the GASO events.

“What people don’t often realize when they are lighting up is that they are not only harming themselves, but harming people around them who are breathing secondhand smoke,” Greenstein said.

Greenstein went on to say lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with more than 80 percent cases directly related to smoking.

The CAC was also able to partner up with local Madison businesses to promote the GASO.

Thursday night The Dawg House on State Street hosted “Weenies for the Wasted,” a late-night event during which the hot dog vender will donate a portion of its profits to the CAC’s Relay for Life fund.

The American Cancer Society named the UW CAC “Chapter of the Year” in 2007 for raising more than $170,000 in donations for the Relay for Life event.

On Monday, the CAC will be decorating Bascom Hill with signs and stakes with facts informing students of the dangers of smoking and lung cancer’s leading role in cancer deaths.