Who is a successful quitter? One-year follow-up of a National Tobacco Quit and Win Contest in Sweden

Abstract

The first nation-wide Quit and Win Contest in Sweden was held in 1988 with 12,840 participants. This corresponds to a participant rate of 6.4 per 1,000 daily tobacco users in Sweden. In order to follow up the long-term effects of cessation and to analyse the determinants for successful cessation, a panel (n = 946) of randomized participants were followed-up at 6 and 12 months with a mailed questionnaire. This gave a complete set of data for 557 (panel) respondents. Available baseline data from the participants' entry forms included sex, age, occupation, specific tobacco habits, quitting attempts during the previous year, and place of residence. At the 12-month follow-up 21% had been tobacco-free for the whole year. In addition 9% of the participants relapsed into tobacco-use, then quit again and were tobacco-free at the 12-month follow-up. The success rate for those participants (14%) who used smokeless tobacco (oral snuff) was similar to that of smokers. The logistic regression showed a significantly better prognosis for success among those without any earlier quitting attempts during the previous year (OR 2.35), if the subjects participated of their own volition rather than having been recruited by a non-tobacco user (OR 1.74), and if they were married/co-habiting (OR 1.92), the results were also significantly improved. The results also show that as a population-based method, Quit and Win produced many successful tobacco quitters, and one year after the contest one-fifth of the participants were still abstinent.

Oral spit tobacco: addiction, prevention and treatment

“…The 'Quit and Win' model was adopted by various European countries including Finland, Great Britain and Sweden. The project in Sweden used a contest to facilitate abstinence from not only smoking, but also ST use among daily users of tobacco who are 16 years and older (Tillgren, Haglund, Ainetdin, & Holm, 1995). Participants were recruited by a mass media campaign encouraging people to enter the contest, as well as active recruitment by various organizations in the community (e.g., occupational health centers, primary care health centers and hospitals, police authorities, businesses, etc.).…”

Smokeless Tobacco as a Possible Risk Factor for Stroke in Men

“…23 On the other hand, there is often heavy addiction to nicotine among snuff dippers, and the success rate among people who try to quit using snuff is no better than that among cigarette smokers. 24 It has also been argued that use of smokeless tobacco may serve as a gateway to smoking among young people. 25,26 When benefits and risks of access to smokeless tobacco are balanced against each other, legal authorities in different countries have come to different conclusions.…”

Quit and Win Contests: A Social Marketing Success Story

“…Alternatively, entrants may be contacted by telephone shortly after registration to gather the monitoring data needed. Information collected included demographic variables such as age, sex, occupation, and place of residence, as well as behavioral variables such as smoking history, current smoking habits, number and success of previous quit attempts, self-confidence levels, available social support, and outcome expectations (Elder et al 1991;Glasgow et al 1985;Tillgren et al 1995a).…”