 |
 Tobacco
is the only consumer product that causes disease, disability and death
when used exactly as intended.
Tobacco
eventually kills half of the people who get hooked on it, and this year, tobacco will kill about 2,000 Manitobans.
The good news is that those who make it to adulthood without
using tobacco will probably stay tobacco-free for life!
 The Manitoba Provincial Tobacco Control Strategy
document shows how Healthy Living Manitoba is working to reduce the devastating
impact tobacco use has on the health and well-being of many
Manitobans.
In 1999 federal, provincial and
territorial governments developed a national strategy to reduce
tobacco use and agreed upon four goals including:
- preventing youth from starting to smoke;
- protecting non-smokers from exposure to second-hand smoke;
- helping smokers quit; and
- denormalizing tobacco use through influencing social norms.
Healthy Living Manitoba is committed to reducing the use of tobacco
in this province through the use of:
- policy and legislation;
- public education;
- industry accountability and product control;
- research; and
- building and supporting capacity for action.
Manitoba has taken a coordinated, comprehensive approach to reduce
smoking-related disease, disability and death in Manitoba. On March 2, 2004, the Minister of Healthy Living
introduced Bill 21 in the Legislature. This bill will prohibit
smoking in enclosed public and indoor workplaces where the government
has clear jurisdiction, effective October 1, 2004. This
commitment will help protect Manitobans from exposure to
second-hand smoke and follows the recommendations in the All Party
Task Force Report on Environmental Tobacco Smoke.
Although much remains to be done, there are encouraging signs that
our efforts are making a difference. The Canadian Tobacco Use
Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) indicates that smoking amongst Manitobans 15
years of age and older has gone from 26 per cent in 2001 to 21 per
cent in 2003.
To learn more, please visit the following sites:
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