Don't let smoke get in your eyes

Smokers are being encouraged to stub their habit and while doing so try their luck in a lottery.

A six-night trip to Vienna, a cruise for two on the MSC Sinfonia and a treadmill are the prizes for three people who manage to kick their habit for at least a month.

Quitters need to stop smoking by May 1, and keep from falling back until May 31, which coincides with World No Tobacco Day.

Although the percentage of smokers here is lower than the average in other European countries, a fourth of the Maltese smoke.

"We still need to intervene especially when it comes to young people and children," health director Ray Busuttil said yesterday.

Speaking during a press conference, he noted that surveys carried out among schoolchildren do not paint a pretty picture, showing a rise in the percentage of 15-year-olds who decided to light up in the past five years.

While the increase in boys was of 2.6 per cent, it was even more worrying among girls, where smokers went up by more than five per cent.

The Quit and Win competition, held once every two years, is part of the health authorities' campaign to encourage more people to stop smoking, while informing them of the health hazards.

Smoking cessation is one of the priorities of the Health Division because of the repercussions it has on people's health, Dr Busuttil said. Smoking caused 381 deaths in 2006, with almost a third being among women.

This amounted to almost a tenth of all deaths. Newly-appointed parliamentary secretary for health Joe Cassar said smoking does not only affect a person's health but has a ripple effect on his or her family and society.

Children who start smoking have the tendency of falling ill at a younger age. It was imperative for people to understand that smoking affects the quality of life, he said.

Charmaine Gauci, head of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department, said an evaluation of the competition held two years ago showed that 23 per cent of those who took part were still tobacco-free.

Over 1,500 people took part in the 2006 competition, more than three times the number that participated when it was first organised in 1994. Dr Gauci said it is well known that quitting is not easy. Studies in the EU have shown that it is even more difficult to go it alone.

Professional help makes it easier for a person to kick the habit, Dr Gauci said, underlining the fact that it was the department's duty to help those who wanted to quit through smoking cessation programmes, a quit line and one-to-one counselling.

Although the competition is intended for over 18-year-olds, the health authorities will also be targeting the younger generation, especially young women, and a tailor-made advert was in the pipeline.

Those taking part in the competition need to have smoked for a year or more. Abstinence from tobacco will be verified by a witness and through a biochemical test.

The winners will be announced on June 3.