For those who like to smoke, know someone who smokes, want to quit smoking or like a really tall birthday cake, there may be a solution on campus today.

The American Cancer Society is coming to Iowa State thanks to the help of Mary Enstring, a nurse at student health. Enstring and a team of interns coordinated the American Cancer Society’s 20th anniversary tour which will stop for two days in Ames.

The tour will be in Ames on November 8th at the Memorial Union from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will continue Saturday at North Grand Mall.

“The Great American Smokeout has been going on for 20 years,” said Jim Fung, an intern at Student Health. “It is a program to help end smoking in America. It urges all smokers to stop smoking for one day. This proves that the will to quit is there, and smoking can be overcome.”

Karen Thorn, program director for the American Cancer Society said the society is trying to raise awareness on the dangers of nicotine.

“Nicotine can be just as addictive as heroine,” she said “The addiction to nicotine is stronger than most people think. We know it is hard to overcome this addiction but we are urging people to just try it for one day.”

The American Cancer Society is in its twentieth year for the national Smokeout campaign. The tour will include 20 communities in Iowa and the campaign will include an eight foot birthday cake for people to sign.

“People can sign the cake if the are serious about quitting smoking, or if they vow to never start smoking, one can even sign the cake to wish people [luck] suffering from smoking related diseases,” Fung said.

This tour will also stop at North Grand Mall Saturday to help the mall celebrate their 25th anniversary. KCCQ will broadcast live form the mall from11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Thorne said an advantage of the tour being at the Union is that there will be free pulmonary function testing and blood pressure checks sponsored through Mary Greeley Medical Center.

“This tour is very meaningful to us because we get to share many peoples’ experiences. We often hear about peoples’ tremendous struggles with smoking and trying to quit,” Thorne said.

“Often times these family members will tell us the story of the loss of a loved one due to a smoking related disease. We deeply appreciate the people that come forward with the courage in which it takes to tell us a truly personal story,” Thorne said.

Every year 400,000 people die of smoking related diseases, and the American Cancer Society is trying to get this message across to all, Fung said.