This Thursday is the Great American Smoke Out, which is being used for more than 30 years to help aid them in quitting smoking.

As per a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2008, about 20% of Americans smoke or about 46 million people.

According to the survey, 20.8 million people had stopped smoking for one day or more during the preceding 12 months because they were trying to quit.

Stephen Michael, director of the Arizona Smokers' Helpline, in residents said that residents of Arizona have a valuable resource because they can call and receive support to help them stop smoking.

Michael said that the free helpline is funded by tobacco tax dollars with some funding from the CDC.

He added that it can be helpful for the smokers to quit smoking by participating in the Great American Smoke Out.

"That's the first step to quitting forever," he said. "A lot of times people want to quit, but they're not that ready."

He added that Arizona residents enrolled in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment system will get 12 weeks worth of an FDA approved method of quitting.