They Quit and Won!
Success for the Camosun Quit to Win (Q2W) contest
April 6, 2010
Of 87 registrants in Camosun College’s first-ever Quit to Win contest, 29 confirmed that they are still “smokefree” - a 33% success rate! Coordinated by the college’s Tobacco Use Reduction Task Force (TURTF) with the aim of encouraging students, staff and faculty who smoked (or who had very recently stopped) to go tobacco-free from February to mid-March.
Each participant was required to sign up with a “buddy” – someone who could provide support in their important quest to quit smoking. At the start of the contest, participants were provided with a “Quit Kit” which contained information and other material that would assist them in quitting successfully. Once the contest was underway, the TURTF sent out weekly emails to participants to provide continuous encouragement. At the end of the contest period, the participant and buddy each had to submit declarations stating that the former had remained 100% tobacco free for the entire contest period. Of the 87 registrants, 29 confirmed that they had been successful, an impressive one-in-three success rate. All 29 registrants and 12 of the support buddies received a prize in a draw that was performed on March 18.
The feedback from the participants was very positive. Some examples:
- “I'm really happy I participated in this contest and that I also managed to stay tobacco free. I never thought I would actually quit smoking at such a young age after being a daily smoker for 6 years.”
- “Quitting smoking is changing my life. Eliminating this toxic habit has been one of the toughest bad habits for me to conquer. I have been smoking for 33 years. My success has strengthened me to continue striving towards a more healthy and bliss-filled life. HAHRAY!”
- “A miracle for me!”
- “It has been hard...but I did it!”
- “Hard.. but sooo worth it!!!”
The TURTF was very fortunate to receive assistance for the Q2W contest from students in the Centre for Sport and Exercise Education (CSEE) who were taking SPEX 160, Introduction to Sport Marketing. These students assisted in the construction of Quit Kits, developed Q2W Facebook and Twitter pages and also worked hard to acquire prize sponsors for the contest. In total there were 22 prize sponsors and over $3,000 in prizes.
The grand prize for the contest was an annual pass to The Pacific Institute of Sport Excellence (PISE) that was won by a full-time student in Environmental Technology at Lansdowne Campus. The second place prize (an 8GB iPod Touch) was won by an Associate Degree student in Arts. A student in the School of Access won the third place prize of a kayak rental for two plus camping on Gabriola Island.
The TURTF would like to thank all the prize sponsors for their support of the Q2W contest:
- The Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE) [grand prize of an annual pass plus four one month passes to the world class facilities at PISE].
- The Camosun College Bookstore in conjunction with the TURTF [8GB iPod Touch]
- Gabriola Sea Kayaking [kayak rental for two plus one night camping at Descanso Bay Regional Park on Gabriola Island]
- Bear Mountain Resort [two rounds of golf including power cart, club valet and club cleaning]
- Accent Inns
- Adrenaline Zipline Tours
- Big Kahuna
- Crag X Climbing Gym
- Frontrunners
- Highland Pacific Golf
- Jonathan Morgan & Company Limited
- Lifestyle Markets
- Ocean River Sports
- Olympic View Golf Club
- Pearkes Recreation Centre
- Silvan Herberger (Capoeira Instructor)
- The Gorge Fitness Centre
- The Gorge Rowing and Paddling Club
- Think Communications Inc.
- Thrifty Foods
- Victoria Paintball Adventures
- Wild Play Parks
The TURTF would also like to thank the BC Lung Association and the Canadian Cancer Society for their help in the conception and implementation of the Q2W contest.
Camosun’s Smoking and Tobacco Product policy
Contact us at TURTF@camosun.bc.ca
