The Centretown Community Health Centre is a key local player in this year’s push to reduce the number of smokers in Ontario, including a province-wide contest that gives quitters a chance to win a car.
Participation at drop-in sessions always spikes in February and March because the contest, which is held during March, gives people an additional reason to try to quit, says Janet Edwards, a health promoter at the centre, located on Cooper Street.
The contest, sponsored by the Ontario branch of the Canadian Cancer Society, is designed to guide participants to available resources, says Barbara Hollander, senior co-ordinator of the society’s Smokers’ Helpline.
“We have the chance to direct people to other support services or local group programs,” says Hollander.
This coincides with the city’s ongoing efforts to encourage people to quit smoking.
The City of Ottawa announced in January that those enrolled in sessions to quit smoking are eligible for childcare services, bus tickets and reduced prices for nicotine patches and gum.
Sessions are helpful for those making a first attempt to quit. They will get an opportunity to develop specific strategies with facilitators, says Edwards. “The plan might include something as simple as having a cigarette two hours after waking up, rather than right away.”
Quitting usually takes five or six attempts as people learn their personal triggers and build on past successes, says Edwards.
The Canadian Cancer Society’s contest has encouraged 130,000 smokers in Ontario to attempt to quit since it started six years ago, says Hollander.
Participants in the contest need to find a support buddy for the month of March and pass a urine test for tobacco use if selected as the winner.
Even though everyone participating may not quit smoking for good, it triggers attempts that would not have occurred without the contest, says Hollander.
The greatest strength of the contest is creating a buzz about trying to quit, according to Dr. Peter Selby, is head of the nicotine dependence clinic at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Tobacco addiction occurs subtly, and smokers don’t understanding how difficult it is to stop until they make an attempt, says Selby.
“I think of (tobacco) as a hijacker that makes you think it’s your best friend,” he explains. “I have heard stories of smokers driving into dangerous snow storms to buy cigarettes or bumming them from off the ground. It is controlling these people.”
When patients have multiple addictions, they often find tobacco more difficult to quit than harder drugs or alcohol, says Selby. “People will kick their other habits first and tobacco will be what kills them.”
Tobacco use kills 37,000 Canadians every year and costs the country $17 billion in medical and other costs, according the Canadian Cancer Society.
The most important message of the contest is to keep trying and remember that help is available, says Hollander.
The grand prize is a choice between a 2011 Honda CR-Z hybrid or a Honda Insight hybrid.
There will also be draws for two unannounced vacation getaways valued at $5,000 and seven $2,000 MasterCard gift cards. Registration closes on Feb. 28.