Good News for Quitters

Two recent scientific studies of cigarette smoking contain no good news for people who continue to smoke but very good news for those who quit.

Researchers at Boston University School of Public Health found that even longtime smokers under 55 drastically reduce their chances of having a sudden heart attack by beating the habit. At the same time, a study at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson found that longtime smokers who convert from cigarettes with high tar and nicotine to the so-called “low-yield” brands are doing little, if anything, to improve their health.

This information makes more intriguing a new program offered by the San Diego chapter of the American Heart Assn. designed to encourage smokers to stop. Beginning in January, the Heart Assn. will give smokers who put down their cigarettes the chance to win prizes like a trip to Hawaii, Padres tickets and meals in restaurants.

To qualify, a smoker must sign up next month, quit tobacco by Valentine’s Day and refrain from smoking until at least April 19. Those who make it will then be eligible for a lottery; those still on the wagon by July will go into a second lottery.

The goal is to get about 2,250 of San Diego County’s estimated 180,000 smokers to kick the habit.

We hope it works. Nonsmokers should not begrudge the opportunity that smokers will have to enter this exclusive lottery. In the end, everybody wins by having a more smoke-free environment.