The 2012 quit and win contest will be officially launched at the end of March by actress Yi-Chen Lin. The organizers announced that contestants who succeeded in kicking the habit and stayed quit within the specified period of time are eligible to enter the drawing for the prizes and for better healthy life.
The 2012 “Quit & Win” campaign is organized by the Bureau of Health Promotion (BHP) of Department of Health (DOH), in cooperation with John Tung Foundation (JTF), as part of their biennial efforts to promote smoking cessation.
In order to qualify for the contest, the smoker needs to remain smoke-free from May 2nd to 29th. With history of smoking for one year or more, adult smokers in Taiwan, 18 and older, are all eligible. A non-smoking partner is required as a companion to offer support and encouragement by signing up with the contestant on JTF’s website before April 30th.
The success rate of previous contestants who refrained from smoking for one month reached 70%, and those who stayed quit at the end of one year constituted about 35%.
The Director General of the Bureau of Health Promotion Dr. Shu-Ti Chiou (邱淑媞) encouraged smokers to take advantage of the some 2,000 cessation clinics across the country and participate in the phase II cessation trial program launched by the Health Department. The program offered to smokers up to 2 courses of 8-week cessation medication trial for only NT$200 (US$6.78).
Director General Dr. Shu-Ti Chiou said, the smoking rate of adults 18 and older dropped from 21.9% in 2008 to 19.1% and the second-hand smoke in public places fell from 23.7% to 8.2% three years since Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevent Act took effect on January 11th, 2009. The second-hand smoke at home declined from 27.2% to 19.9%.
Chiou encourage more smokers to enter the contest and hoped the sort-term incentive will help smokers to change their behavior, future health, and long-term quality of life for the better in a timely manner.