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Three get prizes for giving up smoking

Ahmed Shehata was the second among the three winners selected by the MoH after a contest in the UAE — sponsored by Nicotinell — saw 1,000 participants taking place, of which 603 met the criteria.

The other two include UAE national Tariq Al Husani who won the Dh5,000 first prize and Palestinian Mann Ziyad who won Dh2,500 as the second prize.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Shehata said: “My children aged seven, five and three — all boys — were my warning indicators telling me that now was the time I should finally quit this menace. With support from the Ministry of Health, I overcame my weakness and am gaining weight also.”

Shehata, who used to smoke over 30 cigarettes a day, had started smoking when he was 17 years of age.

In 1994, within the World Health Organisation’s Cindi (Countrywide Integrated Noncommunicable Disease Intervention) framework, the first international Quit&Win contest was organised in 13 countries which all applied jointly agreed rules. Since then, the competition has taken place internationally every other year. In the latest International Quit&Win 2006, almost one million smokers took part from just under 100 countries globally.

“The aim of the competition was to get people to stop smoking for a period of 28 days — from May 1 to May 28. The hope is that once people have stopped smoking for this period, they will end their habit permanently,” said Dr Ayesha Al Mutawa, Director of Central Department of Health Education.

Medical and biological tests were performed after the competition to ensure people have remained smoke-free and all the names of the participants who meet the criteria are placed in a raffle.

The grand prize of $10,000 is provided by the World Health Organisation. Additional prizes are provided by organisations and health bodies from individual countries.

Prizes were sponsored by Nicotinell, Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations, and runners-up were provided vouchers donated by the Radisson SAS Hotel in Dubai Media City.

“This competition has been a great success and we are overwhelmed by the number of people who have approached us, asking about the best methods of quitting,” said Rany Victor, Brand Manager of Nicotinell.

• UAE