TELUS Health Solutions and ACTI-MENU Challenge Quebec Smokers to Quit Smoking<br>by Using the TELUS Smoking Cessation Program STOMP

MONTREAL, Dec. 16 /CNW/ - Quitting smoking just got a bit easier for the 500 participants who will register for TELUS' STOMP pilot program as part of ACTI-MENU's 2010 Quit to Win! Challenge. As a proud sponsor for this year's health promotion campaign, TELUS Health Solutions will provide its award-winning smoking cessation coaching service called "STOMP" (STop smoking Over Mobile Phones), free to the first 500 participants to register who are also TELUS Mobility clients.

STOMP is a behavior-changing coaching program that uses the strength of mobile technology to empower and motivate individuals to face the challenging and difficult demands of quitting smoking permanently. The solution offers 24/7 support with daily motivation tips along with automatic and individually prompted text messages that were developed by specialists in the psychology of smoking cessation. Throughout STOMP's quitting process, which typically averages six months, short texts are sent to participants at specifically prescribed intervals with messages of encouragement. Additional messages of support can be prompted at any time by the participant.

Participants can register for the STOMP pilot program when they register for the Challenge. At such time they will decide on their quit date (which can be anywhere between December 15, 2009 and March 1st, 2010). Fourteen days prior to the chosen quit date, participants will begin to receive text messages to get them mentally prepared. For the next four weeks following the quit date, participants will receive motivational messages along with tips and helpful suggestions in a more intensive fashion. From that point on, participants will enter a maintenance period where they will receive messages every few days for an additional period of 20 weeks.

"We are delighted to be supporting ACTI-MENU in this important effort to help people in Quebec stop smoking. As we all know, smoking is a huge contributor to a number of serious diseases that could be avoided by quitting," said Marc Filion, chief operating officer and general manager, TELUS Health Solutions. "At TELUS we believe in providing easy-to-use web and mobile tools, like STOMP, that truly enable individuals to proactively manage their health, prevent diseases and promote wellness."

MORE ABOUT STOMP...

In Canada, STOMP, for which rights were obtained through HSAGlobal inc., is distributed exclusively by TELUS Health Solutions, and is in line with our commitment to empower Canadians with tools that enable them to better manage their health.

STOMP was developed by the Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU) at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. It was tested in a randomized-controlled trial of over 1,700 participants throughout New Zealand. This study showed a two-fold increase in self-reported quit rates at six weeks (28 percent compared to 13 percent). The results were consistent across subgroups which were defined by age, sex, income level, and geographic location.

In 2008, STOMP was awarded the Telecommunication Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ) Award for Innovation in Health. STOMP received the accolade as the best telecommunications product or application contributing to health outcomes. In November 2009, positive results from the program offered to TELUS team members resulted in TELUS winning a Who's Who in Workplace Health award from Working Well Magazine which honors organizations that have demonstrated leadership and innovation in the domain of health in the workplace.

To register:

http://www.QuitChallenge.ca

About TELUS Health Solutions

TELUS Health Solutions, backed by Emergis, represents a unique set of technology, expertise and resources to help transform how information is used in the healthcare industry. TELUS Health Solutions has years of expertise in successfully implementing healthcare applications and information communication technology processes through industry leading solutions and consulting services to customers in Canada and around the world. It is backed by more than 1,500 TELUS Health Solutions team members including healthcare professionals. For more information, please visit telushealth.com.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.6 billion of annual revenue and 11.9 million customer connections including 6.4 million wireless subscribers, 4.1 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers and more than 100,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video. In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $137 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 2.6 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Nine TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead our local philanthropic initiatives. For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

For further information: For media inquiries, please contact: Jacinthe Beaulieu, TELUS Media Relations, [phone], [email protected]