TABADO: 48.5% of young people who took part in the program started a process of quitting smoking

After seven months of fierce competition, the TABADO championship, financed by the National Cancer Institute and the Addictions Fund, ended on May 18, 2022. Set up in 431 establishments, it has encouraged, since its deployment in 2018, to quit smoking.

Nearly 147,000 students supported in quitting smoking

In total, the Tabado program has been implemented in 431 establishments with 147,000 students since the start of its deployment in 2018. It aims to initiate a process to stop smoking among young people.

Apprentices and high school students from vocational training centers (CFA), vocational high schools and rural family homes (MRF) were the first to be affected by the initiative. And for good reason: they were more likely to be addicted to nicotine. In 2017, 25% of 17-year-olds smoked daily. Young apprentices and vocational high school students consume twice as much as all high school students.

They also took part in the “TABADO GAMES”, a challenge which offered students, but also teachers, the chance to win prizes thanks to the participation of the greatest number of people at the various times of awareness-raising.

At stake ? A financial reward of 10,000 euros paid to the establishment, the use of which is reserved to finance a sports day for the students (canoeing, tree climbing, paddle, circus, etc.).

Thanks to this program, nearly one out of two young people (48.5%) have taken a quitting process.

At the time of the survey, 11.7% of students even indicated that they had “successfully quit smoking”. This withdrawal rate is 6 points higher than students who did not get involved in the program.

In addition, this challenge also made it possible to address other health topics: 26% of the students questioned spoke about mental health and were able to be directed to appropriate centres.

Smoking cessation: which treatment to choose?

Patches, chewing gum, lozenges, lozenges, spray… It’s hard to choose from the multitude of treatments on the market.

The main thing is to choose the most suitable method, knowing that it is possible to combine several techniques and that all treatments have different nicotine dosages.

When the patch is not dosed enough, for example, various withdrawal symptoms appear: craving for smoking, anxiety, nervousness, irritability, desire to snack. It can be replaced by a more dosed patch or supplemented with oral nicotine substitutes (gums, lozenges, etc.).

Conversely, when the patch is dosed too high, headaches, nausea, palpitations, and sometimes a bad taste in the mouth may appear. It is then recommended to cut a piece of the patch (a third for example) or to apply a less dosed patch to the skin.

Whatever your level of dependence, seeking advice from a health professional remains essential.

Tobacco consumption is responsible for 17 cancer sites. Tobacco is the cause of 45,000 cancer deaths each year.