Province gets lousy grade from tobacco foes
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/05/2019 (2373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Local health and anti-smoking groups have given the province a C grade when it comes to tobacco control and are raising concerns about the high number of young Manitobans taking up the habit.
In a report card released Wednesday, members of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Manitoba Tobacco Reduction Alliance and the Lung Association of Manitoba gave Manitoba an A for raising taxes on tobacco products, noting prices won’t drop when the PST decreases in July. But they gave the province a D when it comes to offering help to quit tobacco use and a D+ on monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies.
The number of students in Grades 10 to 12 who reported smoking within the past 30 days was 56 per cent higher in Manitoba than the rest of the country, a recent federal study revealed.
Manitoba’s young adult smoking rate (between the ages of 20 and 24) is about 21 per cent, approximately five per cent higher than the national average.
“Tobacco use still places an enormous burden on our health-care system and our economy. We need to invest in programming that prevents tobacco uptake and helps people quit,” said Neil Johnston, chief executive officer of the Lung Association of Manitoba.
“We feel that investment should come directly from those who profit from tobacco use, from the industry itself.”
The groups also recommended a ban on flavoured tobacco products and that the legal age to buy tobacco and vaping products be raised from 18 to 21.
Their report can be viewed in full at www.mantrainc.ca.
jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca