Quit & Win Contest Draws More Than 400 Participants

More than 400 Nova Scotians signed-up for the chance to win their health, and other prizes, as part of the province's Quit & Win 2000 stop smoking contest.

Results from the campaign, aimed at encouraging residents to quit for the month of May and beyond, were released today.

Promoted by the World Health Organization, Quit & Win 2000 was open to those 18 years of age and older who had been smoking daily for at least a year. Entrants were required to recruit a non-smoking buddy for support and quit smoking for a minimum of four weeks between May 2 and May 31, to be eligible for prizes.

The local grand-prize winner of an all-inclusive, southern trip for two was Tim Oikle of Digby. Mr. Oikle has been a smoker for 29 years. He and his support buddy, wife Vicki, plan to take their trip later this year. Mr. Oikle is also eligible for the international prize of $10,000 American being drawn tomorrow in Malta.

"I started smoking on the night of my high school graduation and have tried to quit many times before," said Mr. Oikle. "I decided it was finally time when I started feeling chest pains."

Vicki agrees it was time for her husband to quit and says the contest gave him extra motivation.

"We want to grow old together, I think he really had to quit for this to happen," she said. "Mid-way through the contest Tim got a letter which gave him some tips and talked about the benefits of quitting, that made a big difference. I gave it to a friend and it helped her quit too."

Dianna Harrison of Springhill was the second-prize winner. The 32-year smoker will receive $2,000. Ten additional prize winners were awarded gift certificates valued at about $100 each.

Health Minister Jamie Muir reiterated that all participants had much to gain whether they won prizes or not, given the short- and long-term health benefits which can be realized by quitting.

"The response to Quit & Win 2000 certainly demonstrates the strong desire among Nova Scotians to break free from this lethal addiction. We hope the contest provided participants the motivation and support they needed to stop smoking for good or continue in their efforts to become smoke-free," said Mr. Muir. "The contest results should also help us zero-in on the most appropriate resources and strategies that should be built into our tobacco control efforts."

The Quit & Win concept was introduced in the 1980s and has since sparked worldwide interest. Thirteen countries participated in the first international contest in 1994 and 83 countries were represented in this year's challenge. An estimated 15 to 25 per cent of Quit & Win participants are still smoke-free after one year. Between 30,000 and 40,000 smokers worldwide have successfully quit with the campaign to date. A formal evaluation, to measure the long-term impact of the Nova Scotia contest will be held in the coming year, however, a random survey of 10 Nova Scotia participants indicated that seven had quit.

The Nova Scotia campaign was co-ordinated by the Tobacco Control Unit of the Nova Scotia Department of Health in partnership with the Nova Scotia division of the Canadian Cancer Society; Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia; Heart Health Nova Scotia; Medical Society of Nova Scotia; Central, Eastern, Northern and Western Regional Public Health Services; and the Lung Association of Nova Scotia.

Contributions toward the Quit & Win prizes were co-ordinated through the World Health Organization. The Nova Scotia Quit & Win co-ordinating committee acknowledges prize sponsors Nicoderm/Nicorette, GlaxoWellcome Inc., and the Medical Society of Nova Scotia.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Staff of the Nova Scotia Department of Health will present Mr. Oikle with his prize tomorrow. The presentation will take place in the boardroom of the Digby General Hospital at 12:30 p.m. Copies of the resource letter noted in the news release and testimonials from participants on their reasons for joining the contest are available at by e-mailing <[email protected].>