Rostov residents are sceptical about smoke-quitting campaign

The action, which took place on November 18, the World Day of Quitting Smoking, in Rostov-on-Don showed that smokers are tough in quitting the habit.

"The initiator of the action was the Limited Liability Company (LLC) '100 Percent of Sports', which promotes sports in the Rostov Region. Activists were involved who drafted the action and submitted it to the Department of Youth Affairs of the Administration of Rostov-on-Don, who helped in organizing the action. We also attracted volunteers and found a sponsor - the 'ALL' Company. Volunteers from this company were giving milkshakes in exchange for cigarettes," Zakhar Lebedinets, coordinator of public events at the Federation of Water-Skiing, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"You have a good campaign. Most probably, I'll quit smoking, but not now," said a student named Admir, throwing three cigarettes from his pack into Stanislav's bag, while continuing smoking.

"The action is going, so to speak, not quite well. About 15 percent of those, whom we offered to exchange cigarettes for milkshakes, have agreed to do so. And in general, some people are very nervous. It's hard to communicate with many of them," a student Vladimir Shishkan shared his impressions.

The result was expected: all the volunteers who worked in the morning in different parts of the city, managed to barter three bags with cigarettes, which covered only a small portion of the area specifically allocated for them. Under loud screams and cries of volunteers the wheels of the quad-cycle several times passed over the pile of cigarette, having crushed them completely.

See earlier reports: "Rostov-on-Don: today, cigarettes can be exchanged for milk cocktails," "Militia searches spice traders in Chechnya," "Drinking beer is forbidden at Sochi railway stations and airports."