Five New Jersey municipalities have recently joined “Kick Butt,” a unique program where towns compete to see who can reduce smoking most amongst public employees. The five participating towns are Parsippany-Troy Hills, Paterson, Vineland, West Milford, and Woodbridge.
The Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC) partnered with Pfizer and the Fox Chase Cancer Center to initiate this new smoking cessation program in the state of New Jersey.
"This program will enhance the quality of life for many New Jersey residents, and we hope it serves as an inspiration to other Garden State communities," said NJ State Director, Dave Terranova.
The participating towns will compete to accomplish the highest percent of employees to go the longest without smoking. The town that wins will be featured in a statewide press conference around the end of September 2011.
"According to the Centers for Disease Control, cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States and its incidence amongst public employees, particularly police and firefighter,s is high," said Director of the MWC, Emily Littman.
The MWC has also recently launched a website to help participants in their mission to quit smoking. The site includes a blog, an “ask the experts” section, related news, and many resources to help participants quit smoking. The website can be found at kickbuttcontest.org.
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