The Scientific Committee of the 10th Congress of the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking, the organization that brings together 60 scientific societies and professional and social organizations from all over the State involved in the prevention and control of smoking, has awarded the second prize to a communication on the prevention campaign Hold on without smoking!, presented by a team composed of professionals from the Public Health Agency of Catalonia, the Area of Citizenship, Innovation and Users of the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut) and the Communication Office of the Department of Health.

Under the slogan “Hold on without smoking!”, the campaign, – starring the NBA player, Ricky Rubio -, focused on young people between 14 and 20 years to prevent them from starting to smoke or get them to quit as soon as possible, and was part of the package of measures adopted by the Department of Health in 2019 with the aim of addressing the number of people who smoke that was evident at the beginning of the previous year, which also included other actions such as strengthening the monitoring of compliance with regulations regarding the promotion and use of snuff and the start of the process of developing a new Addictions Law.

“Hold on without smoking!” is also the result of collaboration between the Department of Health and The Ricky Rubio Foundation. The campaign, which included different television spots, radio spots, graphic images and other content for social networks and the Internet, aims to prevent smoking in adolescents and youth, based on the model of effort, self-improvement and health shown by the NBA player, Ricky Rubio.

The distinction has been received with gratitude and immense joy by Ricky Rubio and the entire team of his Foundation for what it means in terms of strengthening their objectives and strategies to continue fighting against lung cancer. Tobacco smoking is among the causes and origins of this type of cancer, the most lethal and common. Ricky Rubio decided to participate in the campaign in view of the upsurge in adolescent and youth smoking registered in Catalonia a couple of years ago, also taking into account that 80% of chronic smokers acquire the bad habit of smoking between 14.5 and 20 years old.

The Ricky Rubio Foundation celebrates that the Department of Health of the Generalitat has received this award, encouraging those responsible to continue fighting for prevention actions, especially for the youngest.