CHENGDU, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Luo Lin, a 23-year-old man from Zigong, southwest China's Sichuan Province, has won 10,000 yuan (1,250 U.S. dollars) for giving up smoking.

    The reward was the highest for the Sichuan section of the Quit & Win, an international contest staged worldwide by the World Health Organization biennially. The aim is to encourage people to quit smoking and nearly 100 countries and regions have participated in the contest.

    "It's a surprise that quitting smoking can be rewarded. I must show my gratitude to my parents, who have kept encouraging me to kick the habit," Luo said.

    According to Huang Ying, head of the health education department of the Disease Prevention and Control Center of Sichuan Province, 2,194 people were screened for the contest, with the oldest aged 91. Some of them had a smoking history of 65 years or smoked about 80 cigarettes a day.

    "The most difficult part about giving up smoking was in the first 10 days when I had to keep chewing gum and drinking ice-cold water," recalled Luo, who works with the People's Hospital of Zigong.

    "Indeed, it is hard to quit smoking," said Wu Jin, also a reward winner, from the provincial capital of Chengdu.

    "As an office worker, I'm used to smoking to freshen myself after night shifts. During the first several days when I began to quit, I couldn't get to sleep. But now things are much better.

    "I wish my friends would quit for their own health and that of their families," said Wu. Enditem