Annual Quit to Win! Challenge back for its 26th edition

The new year is upon us and so are New Year’s resolutions. For the 12.5 per cent of Quebecers that smoke or vape, hoping to break the habit, the 6-week Quit to Win! Challenge is back to help those hoping to kick the habit this year.

The challenge has had over 500,000 people sign up for it since it was created 26 years ago. Registrations are open from now until Feb. 3rd and for the second year now, the challenge is open to vapers as well.

From Feb. 3 to March 16, participants must give up smoking and if they successfully complete the challenge, they will have the chance to win a grand prize of $5,000.

“I quit smoking cigarettes, no more nicotine for me,” boasts Felipe Godoy, who said he quit smoking on his own even before the challenge begins.

“I’m feeling way better, proud of myself, but it’s a constant battle. It’s an everyday battle, every day cigarettes around, you gotta look away,” he added.

Godoy isn’t the only one struggling to stay off the nicotine. According to pharmacist and spokesperson for the Quit to Win! Challenge, Alexandre Chagnon, as of today, there are still more than 800,000 thousand people smoking cigarettes and an estimated hundreds of thousands of vapers with 1 out of 4 people who registered for the challenge were vapers.

“Last year, we had the statistics that showed that in the last 10 years we had an increase in like 10 or 17-fold of smokers and vapors,” explained Chagnon. “It’s still considered so much of a problem that what we have is the fact that the Quit to Win! Challenge for the second year right now is not only open for smokers, but also vapers.”

Analysis of last year’s participants in the challenge indicates that almost 70 per cent of vapers were those between the ages of 18 to 34 years old, almost three times the amount of smokers in the same age bracket.

“As a pharmacist this is what we see actually,” said Chagnon. “In our pharmacies here in Quebec we have so many young people that never smoked actually, never touched a cigarette, but that started with vaping.”

With the use of vaping products continually on the rise, initiatives like the Quit to Win! Challenge are essential in promoting healthy lifestyles and emphasizing prevention, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Services who have committed to tackling smoking and vaping.

More data from last year’s participants indicates that healthy lifestyles are among the top concerns for Quebecers participating in the challenge, with 74 per cent claiming they want to prevent health problems and 59 per cent saying they want to be in better shape.

But financial concerns are also one of the top issues cited by last year’s participants.

“This year and last year, what we feel will be the first motivation on top of help, that for sure will be the savings because it costs so much to go and live right now in Montreal and Quebec,” explains Chagnon.

“Statistics show that a lot of subscribers are there because they want to save hundreds of dollars per year by not having to buy those vaping materials or cigarette.”

Last year, 75 per cent of participants successfully quit smoking for the 6-week challenge. 

As for those who didn’t succeed or relapse after completing the challenge, Chagnon says they are more than welcome to register once again in the challenge this yea. He encourages them to access tools from their website for tips on how to quit smoking, assistance to draw up a preparation plan, as well as access to a pharmacist to help them choose the right medication to help them succeed this year.

“The feedback is really, really great and we feel that more and more people will be able to celebrate quitting smoking or vaping in the next few years because this challenge is here to stay, that’s for sure,” he said.