Be Free – Smoke Free Melissa Moore - Newfoundland and Labrador Alliance for the Control of Tobacco (ACT)

Tobacco-use a modern epidemic

The Tobacco Epidemic Smoking kills 37,000 Canadians every year Smoking is the #1 cause of preventable death in Newfoundland and Labrador: – 1,000 deaths every year 20% of all deaths 90% of all preventable deaths Half of all smokers will die from their addiction, losing, on average, years of life

The Tobacco Epidemic- 21% of youth in grades 5 through 9 have tried any type of tobacco product The average age for a Canadian youth to start smoking is 12 Much lower in Aboriginal Communities 85% of smokers start BEFORE age 16 Girls are more likely to start smoking than boys The Young Smoker

Second-Hand Smoke 4,700 – 7,000 Canadians, including over 100 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians die each year from exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) ETS increases your chance of lung cancer by 25% and heart disease by 10%. It also increases risk of leukemia and cancer of almost every organ and system in the human body (ETS) and Disease

The Tobacco Epidemic: Costs Cost of 1 package of Cigarettes: $7.09 Pack-a-day smoker: $ per year I’ll quit after university (5 yrs) $12, I’ll quit when I have kids (10 yrs) $25, I smoked my entire life, never got around to quitting… (40 yrs) $103,514.00

The Cost of Smoking in Newfoundland & Labrador 2003 estimated annual costs: $79 million in direct health care costs $139.2 million lost productivity, years of life & employer absorbed costs budget revenue: $93 million cigarette taxes

Why kids start smoking According to the 2005 Youth Smoking Survey from Health Canada, the two main reasons kids start to smoke are – It’s cool (60%) – Behaviour of friends (57%)

What does Nicotine do? Takes 7 seconds for 1/4 of the nicotine to go straight to the brain. Causes your brain to release a chemical called Dopamine. It's Dopamine that gives you a false sense of well-being, and soon the body wants more and more Dopamine on a regular basis. This is the beginning of an addiction. 80% of young people who try 2 cigarettes or more go on to battle a life-time of addiction.

Myths about tobacco… Do these keep young people smoking? Smoking will make you thin – Almost twice as many females than males stated "weight control" as a perceived reason that youth start to smoke (15% and 8% respectively). Smoking is relaxing

Myths… Smoking is an adult activity One cigarette won’t hurt you

Myths… Light cigarettes are better for you It is illegal to buy cigarettes

Smoking and the community Smoking is fast becoming an “old fashioned” idea People are realizing that smoking has no place in a healthy lifestyle Public bans are becoming the norm All school grounds and hospital properties are smoke free Currently in NL smoking is banned in ALL public places including restaurants, bars and bingo halls Some companies have perimeter or property bans.

The Tobacco Industry Tobacco is the ONLY legal product sold that is lethal when used exactly as the manufacturer intends The cigarette is the most effective drug delivery device on the market World revenues from Canadian tobacco companies total $168 BILLION per year …like no other

Truth Revealed Guildford and Minnesota Depositories set up in 1998 Results of US lawsuits 39 Million pages of documentation Tobacco Industry Internal Documents

Truth Revealed The Agreement between tobacco companies: – Deny the known health effects of tobacco and conceal the known toxicity of tar, nicotine, and other chemicals in their product Industry Secret #1: Lie & Deny

The Truth… “…in the case of carcinogens, smoke contains not just one, but a galaxy of them…” British American Tobacco (Owner of Imperial Tobacco) “…obviously the amount of evidence accumulated to indict cigarette smoke as a health hazard is overwhelming. The evidence challenging such an indictment is scant…” 1962 internal industry report

Truth Revealed Industry Secret #2: The Tobacco Industry markets their product to children

The Lie… “…we do not market to children…” 1994 Statement From the Tobacco Industry “…we do not, under any circumstances, want kids to smoke…” 1994 Industry Advertising Campaign

The Truth… From Industry Marketing Memo Released in Court

The TRUTH… The tobacco industry loses close to 500 smokers every day in Canada alone…they need to replace these smokers who quit or die The most promising replacements are young people…85% of smokers begin before they are 16 years old Every day tobacco companies spend over 10 million dollars on advertising to young people

Top Ten Reasons The Tobacco Industry sucks 10. Big Tobacco is greedy In 2001, over 40 billion cigarettes (42,301 billion) were sold in Canada. They are one of the biggest profit making industries in the country. 9. Big Tobacco needs YOUth Honest!! In a desperate attempt to recover their shrinking market of youth smokers, tobacco companies have begun to promote mini-cigars or cigarillos to youth. Cigarillos are often fruit, candy or alcohol-flavoured, and can be purchased in any convenience store either as singles in plastic tubes or in packs of 4-8, at cheaper, more youth friendly prices.

8. Big Tobacco manipulates kids Big Tobacco recruits youth by developing product brand images that show independence, freedom and peer acceptance. They portray smokers as attractive, autonomous, accepted and admired, and athletic. 7. Big Tobacco is two-faced All across Canada, tobacco companies have launched so- called “prevention” programs that they say are designed to discourage youth from smoking. Studies have shown that in some cases, these programs actually reinforce youth’s natural tendency to rebel and so encourage them

6. Big Tobacco thinks we are stupid The tobacco industry has stated that drinking one to two glasses of whole milk a day is riskier than second-hand smoke. Wait. What?? 5. Big Tobacco uses teen and child movies to promote cigarettes It’s no secret. Tobacco companies work closely with Hollywood to promote smoking in movies.

4. Big Tobacco is racist Here is an interesting example: Tobacco companies have labeled African Americans less educated; prefer malt liquor; have problems with their own self-esteem. 3. Big Tobacco uses child labour According to the World Health Organization (WHO) child labour is widespread in all major tobacco producing countries.

2. Big Tobacco is bad for the environment. Tobacco companies often grow tobacco using pesticides and herbicides on land that has been recently deforested 1. Big Tobacco is watching you Although they have stated publicly that they don’t want minors to smoke, internal industry documents have proven that they keep an extremely close eye on the youth market and have developed strategies to encourage youth to smoke. For example, a Philip Morris research report stated that "It is important to know as much as possible about teenage smoking patterns and attitudes. Today's teenager is tomorrow's potential customer, and the overwhelming majority of smokers first begin to smoke while still in their teens."

Why do people continue to smoke?  Addiction – Tough to quit!  Something to do with your hands  Stimulation – nicotine stimulates  Don’t know how to quit  Other reasons?

Reasons to Quit  Health  Stinks, bad breath, yellow skin  Family/Friends  Too much money!  Peer pressure (fewer smokers)  Fewer places to smoke  Don’t like it anymore – sick of it  Others…

So how do I quit?  Form a plan – decide on the best approach for you.  Two ways to quit 1. All at once 2. Cutting back  Based on the way you want to quit there are a lot of tools out there to help you.

Tips/Techniques  The 4D’s – Drink water, deep breathe, delay and do something different  Brush your teeth, chew gum  Eat breakfast first, have snacks for daily cravings  Where you smoke and who you are with.  Cut back on coffee, caffeine and anything else that triggers you to smoke  Ask a health care provider about patch, gum, pill  Exercise, eat right, pick up a hobby  Stay positive! You Can do it!  Get support form the community

Programs & Supports  Patch  Gum  Nicotine Inhaler  Smokers ’ Helpline  Internet Resources    Teacher,  School Counselor,  Nurse, Doctor,  Friend/Family  “ Kick the Nic ” Group Program  Quit for Life Call the Smokers Helpline

Questions/Comments?