They’re dispersed among the crowds of students walking to class; they’re hovered outside of every building; they’re discriminated against in area restaurants; they’ve got numerous air fresheners dangling in their cars and they are always preceded by a pungent odor when they make an entrance.

They are the smokers.

Today the American Cancer Society is asking smokers to reconsider their potentially deadly habit and participate in the 25th annual Great American Smokeout. On this day, local organizers and public health officials are asking all smokers to give up cigarettes for a day and learn about the dangerous effects of smoking that will ultimately lead to their quitting.

“College students are the youngest age to which the tobacco industry can market and promote,” Ellen Leahy-Pile, the Coordinator of the College Mobilization Network said. “If they graduate without becoming smokers, they are unlikely to be purchasers later in life.”

This year, the University of Massachusetts is celebrating the Great American Smokeout thanks to the collaborative effort of the Peer Health Education Program, the Residence Life’s Community Development and Health Issues Committee, and the Tobacco Free Network of Hampshire County’s College Mobilization Network.

Representatives of the Peer Health Education Program have been manning a table in the Campus Center concourse since Tuesday to publicize today’s event. They have been distributing lollipops and information about smoking.

Today, the College Mobilization Network is providing even more incentives to quit smoking. Every time a smoker comes to the table and hands over their cigarettes, they will be rewarded with prizes. Terrell Blackmon, a local message therapist, has donated his time and his portable massage chair in exchange for smokers’ cigarettes.

Several local businesses have made donations in support of the campus effort, including gift certificates from Aqua Massage at the Holyoke mall, and 20 percent-off cards for anything at the UStore. The promoters of the event hope that by offering treats to smokers, they will be able to educate people about the dangers of smoking and entice them to quit.

“I think that we need to make our presence,” Daniella Ben-Simon, a consultant for the Tobacco Free College Mobilization Network said. “You walk out of a classroom and there’s a cloud of smoke in your face. [I think] people don’t realize it’s so dangerous.”

The seed for the Great American Smokeout was planted back in 1971 in Randolph, MA. A man named Arthur P. Mullaney asked people to give up their cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund.

The idea continued to grow when Lynn Smith, of the Monticello Times in MN, organized the first Don’t Smoke Day, or D-Day. By 1976, the California Division of the American Cancer Society succeeded in getting nearly one million smokers to quit for the day. Finally, the first national Great American Smokeout was held in 1977.

“Basically it was invented to give some smokers a day to have a smoke-free day,” Leahy-Pile said. “They [cigarettes] are really the only product sold in the US that if used exactly the way the manufacturers advise, kill 30 percent of the people who use them.”

Throughout the past 25 years in which the Smokeout has been occurring, the dangers of tobacco have become a huge concern for public health in the United States. Many states have passed public health policies in response to the increased awareness of tobacco issues and problems.

The town of Amherst has been on the forefront of smoking regulations. In 1994, the Amherst Board of Health laid the foundation for the total smoking ban covering the workplace, restaurants, bars and other public areas. The ordinance banned the sale of individual cigarettes and vending machines, and established fines for selling to minors. It also required the licensing of tobacco retailers.

According to the College Mobilization Network and the American Cancer Society, approximately 47 million adults in the US currently smoke and an estimated half will die prematurely from smoking. Similarly troubling are their statistics that claim that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men and women, and more than 80 percent are thought to result from smoking.

This year, 169,500 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the US, and a startling 4,000 cases are expected to be diagnosed in Massachusetts alone. Of those 4,000, an estimated 3,000 will die of the disease.

The American Cancer Society is expecting 10 million people to participate in the Smokeout by smoking less or quitting. The College Mobilization Network and the Peer Health Education Committee hope that the Smokeout will be successful on campus in raising awareness of the health risks of smoking and will help more people to quit.

“We’re a young, active population and it’s important to help people quit and help the non-smokers stay smoke-free,” Sally Linowski, a Community Health and Patient Educator said. “We’re trying to reach all the groups of smokers. Hello! Either you smoke or you don’t. If you smoke when you drink, then you smoke! It’s important to recognize [the Smokeout day] because it’s a national observance. A lot more people think about it on that day than normally would.”