Today is a good day to clear the air, so to speak.

It’s the annual Great American Smokeout — marked on the third Thursday in November — when smokers, hopefully, will make the commitment to stop smoking for the day.

This year’s theme is “Day 1,” which serves as a reminder that quitting smoking takes time and a plan.

It’s a great first step to stopping an extremely bad habit that could lead to dire consequences.

Like with most efforts, there is good news and bad news to report. According to the American Cancer Society, the rate of cigarette smoking in the United States has declined from 42 percent in 1965 to between 14 percent and 15 percent today.

The bad news is that 34 million American adults still smoke cigarettes, and smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death and illness in the world.

Here are some statistics, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the cancer society, that just may persuade some smokers to kick the habit for good:

∫ 480,000: The number of deaths in America caused by cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke yearly.

∫ 127,700: The number of those tobacco-related deaths from lung cancer.

∫ 87 percent: The percentage of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. caused by smoking.

We offer these numbers with the hope that many smokers take that first step to put down those cigarettes, cigars and pipes.

Considering the alternatives — lung cancer, lip cancer and cancers of the mouth, throat and digestive tract — it’s not so hard to consider quitting, right?