Evaluation of the International "Quit and Win" Contest 1998 in Isfahan, Iran

Background and Objective-The " Quit and Win" contest is an international contest in which people are invited to quit smoking. This annual contest is also held in Iran and many participants who quit smoking win prizes. This study was conducted to measure the one-year post-contest abstinence rate among participants of the international "Quit and Win" contest, 1998, among Iranian adults residing in Isfahan province. Methods-This cross-sectional study was performed according to internationally agreed rules. Approximately, 7051 current smokers aged at least 18 years, residing in Isfahan province participated in this campaign along with over 200,000 participants from 48 countries worldwide. After 1 year (May 1999) a follow-up questionnaire survey was conducted on 1,100 randomly selected participants. Results-Considering the returned replies after the one-year follow-up by assessing the participant’s serum cotinine levels, the one-year quit rate was calculated to be 27.8%. Conclusion-Although these findings should be interpreted with caution, we conclude that the international "Quit and Win" contest may be considered as a convenient method with a high success rate in producing abstinence from smoking.