Relay for Life raises money for cancer research. (Sidney Hollingsworth/The Daily Campus)

The 37th annual Great American Smokeout sponsored by the American Cancer Society took place earlier this month.

It is held every year on the third Thursday of November. This day is used as a beginning date for smokers to become quitters.

The Smokeout brings awareness to the many supports available for those who would like to break their habit.

Tobacco use is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths (or about 443,000 premature deaths each year) in the United States.

The American Cancer Society also hosts the Relay for Life to help fund its cancer research.

On Friday, April 12, 2013, the relay will begin at 5 p.m. on Bishop Boulevard and will continue until the following morning. Many students, groups and organizations participate and form teams to raise money for Relay For Life.

For those who are new to the event, each team will be required to have at least one member walking around the boulevard at all times.

SMU junior Eleanor Rosler attends the event because her aunt has cancer. It is something she holds very close to her heart.

“She is my inspiration to live life to the fullest. It amazes me to see how many SMU students and people in the community have been affected by cancer in a similar way,” Rosler said.

She thinks that it is one event everyone can relate to and that is what makes it special.

SMU junior and Relay For Life Board member Greg Pasiadis is the director of finance for the event.

Pasiadis wants sponsors to see Relay For Life as a way to promote their business within the SMU community by helping SMU students support the American Cancer Society.

“We approach our sponsors with sponsorship booklets that outline the different ways to be a sponsor and how their donations helps our event and more importantly, how the event helps those battling cancer,” Pasiadis said.

SMU strives to make this night a fun filled event with food and entertainment that benefits cancer victims and their families in the Dallas area as well as all Americans. In 2011, tobacco killed almost six million people. On average, smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.

43 trillion cigarettes have been smoked in the last decade globally.