World No Tobacco Day is this weekend, a day to promote plans to cancel the use of tobacco. Sarah Smith with Prelude Behavioral Services explains the event is held every May 31st. Prelude is joining the Iowa Department of Public Health and World Health Organization in recognizing the day.

Also, Quitline Iowa is offering eight weeks of free nicotine patches, gum or lozenges to eligible participants. Smith adds 6,000,000 people die globally each year due to tobacco-related causes, 600,000 of those are people who die from second-hand smoke. Quitline Iowa is available to all Iowans and helps participants set up a quit date and individualized plan, as well as support and advice.

According to Quitline services, it takes an average of three attempts before a smoker successfully quits tobacco. For more information click here.