[Could a contest encourage smokers from an unfavorable environment to abstain from smoking for at least six weeks?].

A contest to encourage smokers to quit and to remain nonsmokers for at least six weeks was held in a low income neighbourhood in Montreal. The contest was one of many activities for a multifactorial community-based heart health promotion program. The objective of this article is to describe the intervention and its evaluation and to reflect on its relative successes. Thirty-one persons registered for the contest, seven stopped smoking during the six-week contest, and six persons remained abstinent two weeks after the end of it. Concrete recommendations regarding the contest and implementation of a smoking cessation program are discussed.