QuitNow & Win a Smoke-Free Life
byQuitNow is ramping up its annual quit-smoking campaign by offering incentives (aside from better health) like never before.
Smokers who would like to quit can register for the 3rd annual campaign and in turn become eligible for a grand prize of $5,000. It’s a big step to take so organizers are providing resources online and off to assist participants in reaching their goals.
Web Sign up for email quit tips and texts at QuitNow.ca
Social Find QuitNow on Facebook and Twitter
Telephone The helpline provides information in 130 languages 1-877-455-2233
“Each smoker is unique. Our overall objective is to provide smokers with tools proven to increase smokers’ chances of quit success,†said BC Lung Association Director of QuitNow Services, Jack Boomer. “The contest itself is an incentive; a reason for smokers to commit to quit, be it for the first or fifth time. In the process of registering for the contest at QuitNow.ca, we hope smokers will take advantage of the other QuitNow Services available to them.†[source]
The QuitNow & Win contest is open for all those who sign up before January 7, 2011.
In order to raise awareness for the campaign, QuitNowBC has also furnished Miss604.com with a pretty sweet prize. One lucky reader will receive club seat tickets to the Ozzy Osbourne concert in Victoria next Friday, November 12th. Valued at $250, these tickets are very hot items.
To sweeten the deal, I have secured a one-night stay at the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort for the contest winner and their guest (it’s one of my favourite places to stay in town). If you live in Victoria, you can enjoy a night away from home and if you’re from the Lower Mainland, you can give yourself an extra day to make your way back after what is sure to be a wicked concert.
Here’s how you can enter to win these concert tickets and the hotel stay in Victoria:
I will draw one winner from all entries on November 9th at 9:00am 12:00pm. My contest is open to all residents of BC.
Update The winner is Renee Shupe (@ReneeShupe) – have a great time in Victoria!
53 Comments — Comments Are Closed
I am so happy and very proud of my 4 friends that quit smoking at the beginning of this year!!! Way to go! One year anniversary just around the corner!!! Bravo!!
As a youth, I lived in a smoker’s residence. Both of my parents smoked as well as my younger sister. I feel lucky that I never got into the habit. Since moving out, I have cleared out my lungs and vow to remain smoke-free permanently.
I work in the health care industry, in particular, with cancer research and care. Seeing patients in the hospital, many of whom suffer from lung cancer and must now undergo tough medical treatments as a result of smoking (or being in a smoking environment) has convinced an already strong resolve to not smoke! Just not worth the risk.
My parents both successfully stopped smoking because I had asthma and the doctor said I was dying because of them when I was younger! It obviously effected my life cause if they didn’t quit I wouldn’t be here and I’m so proud of both of them! & because of it I have never once tried smoking or wanted to!
My first smoke free day is going to be November 24 … my son’s birthday. He is my greatest inspiration. First I am quiting for myself but it is for him at his request. He wants me to live and to be his mom for as long as I can be.
C.O.P.D. and Emphysema. I watched my Grandfather die of both. His last words will haunt me forever, because I did not heed them. I continued to smoke until I became almost as sick as he was. I have quit now, but the damage is done. I feel terrible guilt for not having the courage to do it sooner. Why do some of us need to have proof before we understand? Quit. It’s not so bad. Just do it.
I attempted to quit smoking in January when my husband ended up in the hospital and had no choice but to quit. I lasted 3 months. Now I have quit for ME. 7 days as a non-smoker now. This time it will work.
I know some long term heavy smokers and it is so sad to see how their health is affected over the years!
I have never been a smoker. I have had family members die of lung cancer due to smoking and I think there are much more wonderful ways to spend your money! If you are a smoker, check out Body Works at Science World!
I’ve never smoked, but I’m super happy and proud of my boyfriend for quiting cold turkey two weeks before he met me. I’m pretty sure if he hadn’t, I might not have given him the chance he deserved. Now, he loves Ozzie, so hopefully I can win these tickets for him!
My grandmother died of lung cancer possibly brought on by a life of smoking. Of course you never can tell in a population of one if it was smoking or just bad luck, but the smoking cannot have helped.
I am a non-smoker, but my husband smokes. After his smoke the smell on him repulses me. My two children have been unhappy about his smoking for as long as I remember. Many of times they have been in tears cause they know that he could die from it. They don’t understand how addicting smoking really is and why he just won’t stop. Good luck to all the smokers out there that want to quit…I know it’s hard but well worth it in the long run…you can do it!!
My mother has been a smoker for 45 years. After I had children, she ‘cut down’and only smoked outside, puffing only a few times and extinguishing the cigarette to return about 45 minutes later for more. She suffered a major stroke this September and remains in hospital after 8 weeks. The stroke was caused by the plaque build up from smoking breaking off and traveling to her brain. Needless to say, because she cannot move her right side, she’s been smoke free for 8 weeks+ and is not looking back. It’s been devastating for our family, particularly my small children, to see Grandma like this in the hospital. PLEASE QUIT FOR THE SAKE OF ALL YOUR FAMILIES!
Smoking as a way for me as an insecure young teen to not only try to fit in with a group, but to rebel against my parents – staking my claim of independence if you will. I always argued that I smoked because I wanted to, not because I was a addicted. This independent streak cost me many things. It hurt my family to find out I had been sneaking around and lying about why I smelled like smoke. My father had put his cigrettes aside the day I was born and never touched them again. By the time I was caught it was too late. I was fifteen and addicted. My attempt at independence was really a trap.
It took me 17 years and 3 children later to finally be able to butt out for good. I like to think I have come out relatively unscathed, but the long term effects remain to be seen.
I smoked from 13 an quit when pregnant at 20, couldn’t wait to start again when I was done breast feeding. Smoking had such a hold on my life. I quit again when trying to get pregnant with my second child (age 26), this time it was going to be for good. I changed my mind set and with the support of some friends who wanted to do the same, we all managed to stay quit. My children now live with smoke free parents and are able to hear what it was like, how addicted I was an why quitting was the best choice I could have made.
Growing up in a smoking household, I didn’t really feel affected by my family members’ habits. It was just what I knew. Now that I’m back at home to attend school after living in my own smoke-free place for years, living with ashtrays and smoke clouds is kinda the pits. Not to mention the worry about my family’s health.
I smoked on and off for about 10 years but quit when my daughter asked me why i was smoking if it was going to kill me. she was so sad everytime she saw me smoke. i decided to be a good example for her i would quit. i have been smoke free for 3 yrs! My dad just quit smoking after 35 years of smoking, i think he’s been smoke free for 3 months now! my mom still smokes though and is working on quitting. I would LOVE to win this contest and give the prize to them. They work so hard and never go anywhere together. This would be the perfect little weekend getaway for 2 great parents who are very deserving of it!!
I’m fortunate that no one in my family has ever smoked but I know how much I’m put off by anyone that does. It’s something that has a profound effect on people’s lives and I’ve noticed it in a few friends that have succumbed to the habit. I can’t imagine it’s easy to quit but certainly hope that this encourages people to give quitting a chance because you’d be hard pressed to convince me that there was a negative side to giving up the nicotine habit.
Over a year ago I quit the filthy cigarette smoking habit. I do not smoke anymore and would never begin again. For one thing, it’s very difficult to quit and I’m glad I stuck with the cold turkey approach. I have more energy, smell good and can smell again since I quit smoking.
2nd hand smoke is gross and I’m so glad that my husband and I stopped smoking at the same time and that’s it. It stinks and has so many health risks. Who needs it!
I’m an athlete so I know that my performance would suffer. No way, I have no desire what so ever to inhale harmful substances. Smoking is so passe’.
My husband is a smoker, he says he’d like to quit but struggles with how to do it. He knows that it affects his health as well as the health of those around him, yet he hasn’t yet found the way that works for him to quit. I’m going to share this with him – maybe motivation to go to Ozzy will be something that will help him make the change.
It also effects his social life, as all of his friends are non-smokers. So while we’re all hanging out and having a great time he’s outside in the rain satisfying his addiction.
My father died at age 62 of lung cancer. He was a heavy smoker since the age of 12 and tried many times to quit. Watching him struggle to breathe and live as the cancer stole his life away was the most difficult I ever had to see. I wish my children would have known him and it makes me sad to think of all the fun he missed out on. If you smoke, please quit for the sake of your children and grandchildren who want you to be there with them!
I love not having to go ouside once an hour to inhale that carcinogenic cocktail into my lungs. The freedom is exquisite.
My dad born 1920 smoked for about 30 years (before they really knew the dangers). He quit in the 1960’s, and at the same time became an exercise buff and what was probably the first jogger in Burlington Ontario (people would actually point at him running and laugh because it was so unusual). He jogged 10 miles on his 60th birthday. But he died of lung cancer before he was 65. The doctor said the damage had already been done (cumulative), and years of very healthy living could not reverse that.
My dad smoked when we were kids, we would steal his cigarettes and poke holes in them so he couldn’t smoke. Out of all the kids, I was the one who took up smoking, and took it up big….crazy eh! Until I quit for good 18 years ago, I think, (I can’t exactly remember how long it’s been, that’s when you know you’ve really quit…you stop counting, you’re free….) This is great that you’re promoting a quit smoking contest, it’s tough, but you can do it!!!! Good luck to everyone trying, I am living proof that you can do it!!!! : )
I started smoking as a teenager (now late 40s). For years I thought that coughing in the morning was something everyone did when they woke up. When I got married I found out otherwise. My Dentist was the one who got me to quit, showing me the damage. I used Welbutrin, quit without any relapse (but not easy), and though I still cough a little in the morning, it gets less each year.
Smoking affects me as I worry about my brother’s health. All of my brother’s smoke and I continue to advocate to them the importance of stopping!
I use to smoke but not anymore! Didn’t want my family to suffer from my pleasures!
My dad use to smoke, and I would inhale all the second hand smoke during car rides and such! It was horrible! After he stopped though, my asthma stopped as well!
Family never smoked and thank god for that!!! Nothing but harm!
I finally quit smoking when I found out I was pregnant a few years ago. I was a smoker for 7 years prior to that. I’m so glad to have gotten rid of that nasty, expensive habit for good 🙂
Well, how do I start.
I have been a smoker since I was 13 (I am now 41) and there have been sooooo many different ways I have been affected by this crappy addiction.
I have been having many health issues in the last 2 years, but have found it VERY hard to quit. Some of the things that I have had issues with is that I have had to quite playing a few sports that I LOVED to play for many years because I just can’t do them anymore because of a shortness of breath.
I have also seen that more and more, i am having to be alone to have a smoke since more and more people are quitting, this means that I am more often than not alone outside in the elements smoking and feeling like an outcast.
I also lost my father 2 years back to Lung Cancer (Smoker for 50 years) and one of my best buddies last year to lung and esophageal cancer.
I know that I have to quit, but don’t know how to go about it because I get very bitchy when I try. I am also worried because I am already quite overweight, and I know that when I have quit in the past, I do end up gaining weight.
Thanks for allowing me to tell a bit about myself.
Rick Passek
My grandfather smokes… and currently smokes. Nothing anyone says motivates him enough to quit smoking. My aunt recently had a son, and sometimes he doesn’t air out his breath before holding my cousin.
My dad used to smoke. He had a heart attack scare & quit cold turkey. Because of that, no one in our family smokes now. YAY!
Been smoking since I was 14, now 28. I have spent about 15-20,000 on cigarettes in that time. So I would say being down 20 grand is pretty crappy. I have quit a few times, for lengthy periods, but always end up going back. Not much of a story beyond that. I would love to blame smoking for everything wrong but that would just be too easy. Ozzy tickets would make smoking more justified.
lol
-N
I watched my father nurse my grandfather in his last days struggling with lung cancer. I will never be a smoker!
I am embarrased on a daily basis by being a smoker. I need this to be my quit year.
I have never been a smoker, but grew up in a household of smokers – I remember always smelling of stale smoke and hating it!
You going to have to get a lot more creative if you want people to stop smoking.
My dad smoked a lot while we were growing up, but at least he didn’t smoke inside our house. I have always hated the smell of cigarettes and have never ever tried smoking and I will never want to!
Good on you for this contest. Smokers can use all the help given how tobacco companies have conned us all for years
I just wanna say thanks for posting this. I really, really, REALLY need to quit smoking and this is probably the best possible impetus. Thanks 🙂
Ozzy quit smoking but not without struggle.Like many others here I’ve been touched by cancer.Watching my father who got lung and brain cancer,widdle down from 248lbs to 96lbs was heartbreaking.
Ozzy struggled to quit smoking.He said it was the hardest thing he’s ever had to quit….and you know he’s got a big list!
Ozzy is the best!
My dad has smoked for as long as I can remember (probably since before I was even born). It wasn’t until recently that he quit at the behest of my entire family, after years and years of nagging.
-AJ
I found out that my grandfather’s health issues that recently occurred were a result of smoking, even though he quit over 30 years ago. Definitely a case where the sooner you quit, the better.
I am my hubby’s buddy for this contest.
My gramma quit smoking over 25 yrs ago. She is now battling 4 yrs of throat cancer. She is my hero, so brave and strong!
I am an asthmatic and it is so frustrating that smokers think they have a right to affect my health
Hi, I smoked on and off throughout my teens and university. I come form a lineage of smokers who still smoke on my mom’s side ! I quit the day I became pregnant! My Grandmother quit smoking in her seventies but she is now dealing with nose cancer… it is sad. Please don’t smoke, I know it is hard but a smoke free life is so healthy and good for you, your family, and the planet 🙂
Smoking has led to cancer for several family members. Quit now folks.
Luckily I know so many people that have kicked the habit. However, my dad seems determined to smoke til the bitter end, and my fear is that the end is sooner than I wish.
I’ve attempted to quit smoking twice in the past six months, I made it to 4 weeks once and 3 weeks the second time. My reason to quit is so that I can enjoy the beauty in this world again with my full attention. Nothing is more terrible then standing in a wonderful gallery on foreign soil and having your immersion in the moment distracted by the tug of a nicotine craving.
Congrats Renee! have a great time!!!