NASHVILLE -- Smokers nationwide are being encouraged today to put down their cigarettes for 24 hours in the hope that they may quit for good.

The occasion is the Great American Smokeout, an annual campaign by the American Cancer Society and other health officials to encourage persons to quit tobacco use.

The Tennessee Department of Health encourages tobacco users to call the Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-800-784-8669 to set a plan for how to quit.

There is no charge to callers for services and callers have unlimited access to a quit coach through the QuitLine.

"Thousands of Tennesseans have already reached out to the QuitLine and its quit coaches to help them through the difficult process of quitting smoking," said Tennessee Health Commissioner Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN, in a news release.

"We know this service is a valuable tool to those who want to stop using tobacco, and we urge other smokers to take the Smokeout challenge to quit for just one day and call the QuitLine to start their own plan to quit for good," Cooper added.

The Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine offers personalized support for Tennessee residents who want to quit smoking by connecting them with trained coaches to guide them through the quitting process. Callers will receive ongoing professional coaching via individually scheduled calls with a quit coach personally assigned to them.

This service is free and confidential. It is available in both English and Spanish.

The service is also available for the deaf and hard-of-hearing at TTY 1-877-559-3816.

QuitLine callers also have complimentary access to relapse prevention techniques, printed resource materials, information on nicotine replacement therapies and other services to aid in the quitting process.

Smoking cessation services are also available at Tennessee's county health department clinics, the release says.

All patients are screened for tobacco use and asked if they are interested in quitting. Those who want to quit are evaluated by medical professionals to determine the best course of treatment to help them stop smoking. These services are offered on a sliding fee scale based on income.

According to the state's Health Department, smoking is responsible for almost one in five deaths in the United States.