Health News For South West
Friday, January 10, 2014
Perth District Health Unit
Quit Smoking in 2014 and You Could Win a Car, Cash or Other Prizes!
Quitting smoking is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, but one that people struggle with given the addictive nature of nicotine. This year, the Perth District Health Unit is promoting two opportunities for Perth residents to quit and win. Smokers who want to quit are encouraged to sign up for Leave the Pack Behind’s wouldurather contest and the Canadian Cancer Society’s Driven to Quit challenge.
The wouldurather contest is open to all young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 and is offering eight weeks of free quit smoking medication to all participants, in addition to two grand prizes of $2,500. The same participants, and any other smokers over the age of 19 in Ontario, are also encouraged to sign up for the Canadian Cancer Society’s Driven to Quit challenge, where they will have an opportunity to win a new car.
“We hope these two opportunities will motivate more people to quit smoking, especially with the added incentive to obtain free and low-cost nicotine replacement therapy,” says Adrienne Adas, Public Health Promoter.
In addition to using a cessation aid, such as nicotine replacement therapy, Adas encourages individuals making a quit attempt to use every support available to them. The Health Unit offers resources and free one-on-one counselling to support people on their journey to becoming smoke-free.
Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Ontario, killing 13,000 people annually or 36 people a day. Many smokers make five to seven attempts to quit smoking before they quit successfully. Accessing quit smoking supports and programs can help increase a smoker’s chance of becoming tobacco-free.
Registration for the wouldurather contest is open until January 26. Visit www.wouldurather.ca for more information. The Driven to Quit challenge is open for registration until February 28. Visit www.driventoquit.ca for more information.
For more information on smoking cessation:
Media Contact:
Rebecca Hill
Communications Manager
519-271-7600 ext 279
rhill@pdhu.on.ca
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