Editorial
Youth tobacco reduction requires multi-level effort
The Harper government has announced that its Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS), an initiative aimed at reducing the number of current and future youth smokers, has met with considerable success in its first year of operation.
The announcement is not only good news for young people, but also proof that such efforts can make a difference.
And while it is certainly too much to hope that this or any other program can somehow magically eliminate youth smoking, it is an encouraging example of what can be done.
The $16 million FTCS program's mandate includes helping people stop smoking, preventing youth from starting to smoke, and protecting Canadians from exposure to second-hand smoke.
“The FTCS has been successful in reducing smoking in Canada and preventing youth from starting to smoke,” said Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq.
As a result, at least in part, of this initiative, Canada now has one of the lowest overall smoking rates in the world, with overall smoking rates dropping from 22 per cent a decade ago to under 20 per cent in 2010.
On the youth side, Health Canada says 13 per cent of Canadian youth are smokers – the lowest-ever recorded percentage.
The Harper government says it will continue to fund the FTCS program, and in doing so support smokers in their efforts to quit, address issues of contraband tobacco, and work towards implementation of recently announced health warnings on cigarette and cigar packaging.
At the provincial level, Alberta already has an effective tool at its disposal to fight youth smoking.
Specifically, the province's Prevention of Youth Tobacco Use Act includes strict prohibitions on cigarette and other tobacco use by young people in all public places.
The legislation makes it unlawful for any person under 18 to possess, smoke or otherwise consume tobacco products, with violators facing fines starting at $100.
Unfortunately, as the daily scenes of young people smoking in public places in every town and city in this province can attest, the Stelmach government has been anything but diligent in enforcing its own youth tobacco legislation.
For their part, school divisions, including Chinook's Edge, have already prohibited students from smoking on school properties. Yet when school starts up again in September, it's a pretty good bet young people will be seen smoking cigarettes on West Central Alberta properties directly adjacent to their schools.
Perhaps Ed Stelmach's replacement will make at least some effort to see that Alberta's youth tobacco legislation is finally enforced.
Or maybe it will just continue to be left up to the federal government to do all the heavy lifting in the youth tobacco fight?
