The Nic-O-Time Challenge at Portage Collegiate Institute officially wrapped up, with the presentation of approximately $700 in prizes for the youth involved. The program saw just shy of 300 youth involved in this year's challenge, and Not On Tobacco (NOT) Coordinator for the Manitoba Lung Association George Koch said he was thrilled to see so many youth involved.

"If we could help even one student not take up cigarette smoking in the 'Don't Wanna Start' category, or one student in the 'Wanna Quit' or 'Wanna Cut Back' categories I would say Kudos. However, we did better than one. For "Wanna Quit' we had 10 students, for 'Wanna Cut Back' we had 14 students, and for PCI's students who registered for 'Don't Wanna Start' we had a total of 274 students. We did better than helping just one student."

He notes the teachers and facilitators involved in the program were aware of the students looking to cut back or quit, in order to provide them with extra services. Koch notes those services ranged from information, to access to those able to support their efforts.

The teachers were heavily involved in the Nic-O-Time Challenge, including Guidance Counsellor Dana Pruden. She explains they changed the way they conducted the program this year, and were thrilled with the response.

"I was really impressed with the results. The first year we did it, we used more class time. This time we made it more voluntary. For more than a third of the students to voluntarily participate on their own time is huge."

A hundred dollars was provided to one randomly selected youth in each category, and a $300 grand prize was also given out to a single youth involved in the challenge. However, Koch notes they also needed to recognize the students who took on supporting roles, and provided four of those youth with a cheque for $25 each.