Driven to quit

North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit
Media Release

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More than 150 people in our district have signed up to quit smoking for the month of March, motivated by the possibility of winning a new car.

“The Driven to Quit provincial challenge provides a great incentive to people who would like to quit,” said Melanie Simms, Community Health Promoter at the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit. “However the real reward is the improvement to their health and their reduced risk of chronic disease.”

To date across the province, over 13,600 people have signed up for the contest. Traditionally the Driven to Quit Challenge has a surge of last minute entrants just before the February 28 deadline. In 2006, there were 25,863 smokers across Ontario who quit for the month of March.

The Challenge is open to all Ontario residents 19 years and older who smoke daily. Each participant must sign up with a support buddy who is a non-smoker, to help when the going gets tough. Everyone who stays smoke-free from March 1 to 31 qualifies for a draw to win a 2007 Acura CSX or one of seven regional prizes of a 32-inch high definition television. Entry forms are available online at www.driventoquit.ca, from any of our health unit offices in North Bay, Parry Sound or Burk’s Falls, or in one of the brochures distributed through local newspapers across the district this month.

For more information about the Driven to Quit Challenge, please contact Melanie Simms, at 474-1400 or 1-800-563-2808, ext. 2372.

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