Malay Smokers Challenged Themselves To Stay Smoke Free During Month Long Muharram Challenge

Celebrating winners of Muharram Challenge 2010

1 The Muharram Challenge 2010, a four-week Quit & Win competition by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) to motivate Malay smokers to quit smoking, will culminate at a finale event at Feng Shan Community Club, on 17 January 2010. To date, about 10% participants have successfully quit smoking during the Challenge, a figure which is comparable to international quit rates of studies published.

2 The winner will walk away with the grand prize of S$2,500 and the first and second runner-up wins S$1,500 and S$1,000 respectively.

3 Quitting smoking is a challenging uphill journey that has higher rates of success with the support of family and friends. We hope the professional quit advice, counselling, and the coping skills the participants have practised during the Muharram Challenge will help them continue to stay smoke free. We are confident that these will provide them with the skills to enjoy the benefits of a smoke-free lifestyle, not just for themselves but also their loved ones, says Ms JoAnn Taylor, Deputy Director, Substance Abuse, Adult Health Division, Health Promotion Board.

4 The Muharram Challenge 2010 has definitely helped me to quit smoking. I had previously tried to stop smoking after the fasting month but it was challenging doing it alone. Unlike my previous quit attempts, the Muharram Challenge has given me additional motivation as the random smokerlyser tests, weekend activities, SMSes and motivational messages prevented me from lighting up. In addition, fellow peer participants were also encouraging. Quitting smoking is one of the best decisions that I have made and I am thankful to my family for the support and to Muharram Challenge for encouraging me to take this step, says Mr Zakee bin Mohamed Noor, 33, a current participant in Muharram Challenge 2010.

About Muharram Challenge
5 The Muharram Challenge continues to motivate smokers to quit the habit. Participants like Mr Zakee bin Mohamed Noor have shown that while it may be challenging, it is not impossible especially with the support of family and friends. Strong family support, together with professional quit advice and counselling significantly improves the success rate of quitting the habit.

6 Throughout the four-week challenge, smokers were equipped through smoking cessation workshops, team-building activities and testimonial sharing sessions, with knowledge and skills to quit smoking. Families and friends rallied around their loved ones to create a supportive environment as part of their quit journey. These supporters also learnt tips to provide practical and emotional support for the participants to overcome withdrawal symptoms and tempting situations.

7 For the first time, participants were also given extra support through phone counselling and weekly motivational messages through SMS. The SMS programme included bite-sized quit tips and motivational quotes to encourage smokers to stay smoke free. Participants also underwent random smokerlyser testings conducted by HPB roving testers, to measure the level of carbon monoxide in the lungs.

8 For information and support on quitting smoking, members of the public can call QuitLine at 1-800-438-2000 to speak to Quit Consultants or log on to www.hpb.gov.sg/smoking.

9 QuitLine is staffed by trained quit advisors who offer advice and tips on ways to quit smoking and practical and emotional support during the quit journey. QuitLine service is available in four official languages, Mondays to Fridays from 8.30 am to 5.00 pm, and Saturdays from 8.30 am to 1.00 pm.

Background information
10 According to the 2007 National Health Surveillance Survey (NHSS), within the ethnic groups, smoking was most common among the Malays, with a prevalence of 23.2%, compared to 12.3% in Chinese and 11.4% in Indians. In 2007, there were also significantly more Malay men who smoked, with more than four in ten (41.3%) Malay male smokers, compared to about 2 in 10 Chinese (21.2%) and Indian males (20.6%) who smoked. This is a significant increase from 29.9% in 2004.

The Muharram Challenge

Objectives
The objectives of the Muharram Challenge (MC) are:

To motivate and encourage smokers to quit smoking by increasing their level of readiness to change

To equip smokers with the knowledge and skills that empower them to quit smoking

To create a social support network for the smokers by involving their family and friends in the activities and equipping them with encouragement tips to support smokers in their quit attempt

Programme highlights for Muharram Challenge

The four-week challenge consists of weekly activities to keep the participants in check throughout their quit journey.

(I) Launch Day 20 Dec 2009, Sunday
At the launch of MC, simple tests were conducted to assess the participants level of smoking. Quit Consultant conducted a smoking cessation workshop to help participants better understand their reasons for smoking, the ill effects of smoking, and reasons to quit smoking. Participants also learnt about the different quit methods and how to overcome withdrawal symptoms.

MC supporters also attended a parallel track which covered tips on providing practical and emotional support to their loved ones to overcome withdrawal symptoms as well as tempting situations.

(II) Outdoor Teambuilding Event 27 Dec 2009, Sunday
To help MC participants build rapport as well as create the support network necessary to encourage them to remain smoke free, an outdoor teambuilding event was conducted at East Coast Park. Teambuilding activities, such as telematches and problem solving quizzes enabled participants discover tips on dealing with tempting situations and helped them apply the knowledge and coping strategies.

Participants and supporters were also awarded points for the telematches as well as quiz activities. These points contribute to the final assessment which will determine the MC winners.

(III) Testimonial Sharing Session 10 January 2010
Conducted in the form of support group session, the testimonial sharing session was an invitation to included the MC participants and their supporters to give a recount of the achievements and challenges in quitting over the past weeks. The session also an opportunity to provide the participants with further encouragement and prepared them for the finale event and prevent a relapse after the Challenge.

(IV) Finale 17 January 2010, Sunday
MC participants who have been successful in staying smoke-free will be invited to this celebratory event. Prizes will be awarded for the active participation in weekly events. Winners of MC 2010 will also be sharing their personal quit journeys.

Prize Worth
1st $2,500
2nd $1,500
3rd $ 500

In addition, 20 achievement prizes worth $100 each will be presented to participants who quit smoking successfully.