The 26th edition of the Quit to win challenge

The 26th edition of the Quit to win challenge

The 26th edition of the Défi J’arrête, j’y gagne (Quit to win challenge), will run from February 3 to March 16, 2025. People who want to quit smoking or vaping can register on the challenge website. The principle is simple: all you must do is take up the challenge to stop smoking for six consecutive weeks for a chance at a $5,000 grand prize. Alexandre Chagnon is a pharmacist and spokesperson for the challenge and gave a French-language interview to CHIP 101.9:

Committing to stop smoking for a fixed period allows participants to attempt to kick the habit without fear of having to do so for an extended or permanent period. On average, 75% succeed in meeting the challenge of not smoking for 6 weeks.

Over the past 25 years, more than 532,000 people have registered for the Défi J’arrête, j’y gagne. Today, 12.5% of Quebecers are smokers (around 900,000 people), and nearly 65% of them would like to quit.

For the second year running, the challenge is also open to vape users who want to break the habit. The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux recently committed to a strategy to focus more on prevention and the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits.