Hygiena 2008, 53(Suppl.):S42-S45
Quit and Win 2006
- Státní zdravotní ústav, Praha
Smoking of tobacco products and addiction to nicotine is a global health problem. The Quit and Win Campaign is trying to help to solve this tobacco pandemic. In the Czech Republic the contest has been run periodically and because of its effectiveness it has been added to recommended procedures of the National Health Programme of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic. The contest is aimed at adult smokers, who have to prove that they will quit smoking for one month. The participation in the contest is motivated by prize money.
In year 2006, the contest was entered by 983 smokers. The reason for quitting smoking is primarily prevention of health damage. Amongst other reasons we can find poor health condition. Last but not least is the motivation of an interesting prize. Compared to previous years the contest has succeeded in addressing more people aged 25-34 years, and we consider this as one of the successes of our campaign. The reason is probably the use of Internet for communication between organizer and contestants. In 2007, the Follow-up Study was conducted to prove the effectiveness of the 2006 contest. The study showed that at least 14% of participants were verifiably non-smokers for a period of one year following the contest.
The contest offers a good reason to end dependence on tobacco products. The majority of participants entered the contest with the aim of using the contest as the start of a non-smoker's life.
Keywords: tobacco, smoking, cessation, Quit and Win Campaign
Published: December 2008 Show citation
