KIck Butts, Mayor's Wellness Campaign,

March 22, 2011 - Parsippany, New Jersey will be among five municipalities where public employees will compete to quit smoking. The township will join Paterson, Vineland, West Milford and Woodbridge in the "Kick Butts'' competition, launched by the Mayor's Wellness Campaign (MWC), in conjunction with the New Jersey Healthcare Quality Institute and Pfizer pharmaceutical company and Fox Chase Cancer Center.

The winning municipality will be whichever has the highest number of public employees who have gone the longest without smoking. The results will be announced at a press conference in September.

The employees will be following a program designed by Fox Chase Cancer Center to to help even heavy smokers kit and avoid a potential relapse, according to Dr. Suzanne M. Miller, director of Psychosocial and Biobehavioral Medicine Program at Fox Chase and Dr. Amy Lazev, assistant research professor at Fox Chase.

"There are no losers in this competition," Littman said. "At the end of the contest, every participating municipality will receive a $1,000 grant after providing the MWC with all the documentation required."

The Mayors Wellness Campaign is an initiative of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute , in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. It supports mayors as champions of community health.

Reference: No Butts About It: Parsippany Enters Competition to Help Employees Quit Smoking by Carrie Stetler, parsippany.patch.com, 3/21/2011.

Some New Jersey related news briefs:
New Jersey - more high school kids and adults smoking - preventive funding way down..;
New Jersey - governor has proposed eliminating state funding of tobacco control program..;
Somerset, NJ - high school participates in National Kick Butts Day..;
N.J. Assembly committee approves e-cigarette ban..;
New Jersey town bans smoking on beach, boardwalk, sidewalk..;
New Jersey - legislation proposed to prohibit sale of e-cigarettes..;
New Jersey assemblywoman wants to limit electronic (e) cigarettes..;
E-cigarettes need to establish efficacy and safety - FIRST...
New Jersey - Senator Buono bill would ban smoking in public parks and beaches..;
New Jersey bans flavored cigarettes..;
New Jersey May Ban Certain Flavored Cigarettes..;