A new campaign by Tobacco Free Florida is offering a gift card incentive for eligible participants to encourage people to quit smoking.
From now through Friday, March 31, new participants in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties can receive a gift card for joining one of two programs through Tobacco Free Florida while supplies last. At the end of the quarter, participants in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties will be offered the same incentive from Saturday, April 1 until Friday, June 30 while supplies last.
“The incentive program is just a way to bring attention and a resource to people who are struggling to quit tobacco. It is our hopes that by providing this incentive that they will take the opportunity to use the resource of the incentive to help them in their quit journey,” said LaToya Livingston, tobacco program director.
Smoking adults can join Tobacco Free Florida’s in-person and virtual Group Quit sessions. Those looking to quit can participate in a two-hour single session and receive a $50 gift card or attend a four-week program that meets for an hour once a week and receive up to $125 in gift cards. For the four-week program, participants will receive a $50 gift card for the first session and a $25 gift card for each of the next three sessions they attend.
The nine-county gift-card incentive was made possible with a $2.7 million grant from the Florida Department of Health. The Area Health Education Center in the USF College of Medicine received the grant to support the incentive program. Livingston and her team hope to see a 35 percent increase in the number of participants in their programs following the gift card incentive.
Tobacco Free Florida offers free programs to support those on their journey to quitting tobacco. While the incentive program is only available for a limited time and while supplies last, people can seek free resources and support groups through the organization.
For more information on Tobacco Free Florida or on how to quit smoking, visit https://tobaccofreeflorida.com/.
