Smokers get new deal

Accra, April 19, GNA - The Ministry of Health has introduced a Quit and Win smoking cessation competition that would provide a positive method to induce large numbers of people to stop smoking.

The initiative , introduced on Wednesday would involve more than one million smokers in Ghana and about 100 other countries worldwide.

A statement from the Ministry said those who would take part in the competition would be encouraged to attempt to quit smoking for the month of May 2006. It said the competition would help to create a global solution to a global problem by helping "quitters" reach their goal to quit smoking.

"The quit and win 2006 would be organized for the third time by Ghana Health Service in three Regions - Greater Accra, Ashanti and Northern - in conjunction with the international organizing body which includes the World Health Organisation, National Public Health Institute of Finland and Pharmacia Corporation", the statement said.

The participants are eligible to a range of national prizes with the first to third taking mobile

phones fully connected in addition with the winner having a chance to win 2,500 dollars in an

international regional prize draw or 10,000 dollars in the top international prize. The Ministry said the competition was opened to everybody at the age of 18 years and above

who had been a smoker for a year or more adding that all one had to do was to refrain from smoking for at least four weeks from May 2 to May 29, 2006. The statement said abstinence would be inquired from the registrant and from the designated

witness and the biochemical urine continuing test NicCheck, would also be used to validate the abstinence claims made. It was estimated that during the next 25 years, over 100 million people would die from smoking, the statement said adding; "we should realize that most of these people are already

smokers today and about half of the smokers would die because of their smoking habit and the other half would lose about 20 years of their life." The statement said the competition set to break all records with over one million quitters

giving up smoking in some 100 countries worldwide adding that follow-up studies on the earlier

quit and win competition demonstrated their huge success rates as participants had a 20 per cent higher chance of being tobacco-free a year on.