Dear editor,
To kick-off National Non-Smoking Week, the Canadian Cancer Society, B.C. and Yukon, is calling on the provincial government to ban all flavoured tobacco products now in order to reduce the number of tobacco related deaths in B.C.
When it comes to flavoured tobacco products there are three important facts. Most people start smoking when they are young, more than half of youth who smoke use flavoured products, and recent polling shows 81 per cent of B.C. youth ages 15-18 want to ban all fruit and candy flavoured tobacco products.
Knowing this, the solution is clear; to reduce youth smoking, we need the B.C. provincial government to take action by banning flavoured tobacco.
Flavoured tobacco products are specifically engineered to attract new youth smokers with their child-like bright coloured packaging and candy flavours. Prohibiting the sale of flavoured tobacco products is a policy that will help reduce tobacco use and reduce cancer incidence. It is a policy 76 per cent of all British Columbians (ages 15+) support.
I encourage all residents of B.C. to write or email their MLA and the B.C. Health Minister, urging them to create a provincial ban on all flavours of all types of tobacco products as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Nancy Falconer, MSc.
Regional Health Promotion Coordinator
Canadian Cancer Society, Vancouver Island Region