A Message from The Honourable Ujjal Dosanjh, Minister of Health
World No Tobacco Day
I am proud to support World No Tobacco Day, celebrated every year on May 31. Created by the World
Health Organization, the goal of World No Tobacco Day is to draw global attention to the tobacco
epidemic and the death and disease it causes.
This year's theme is the Role of the Health Professional in Tobacco Control. We realize that we
cannot win the fight against smoking on our own. That is why we rely on support from health professionals
to carry out action in tobacco control.
Together with our partners, we have made great strides on the tobacco front this past year. I was
very proud to see Canada ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a global treaty that
seeks to protect people around the world from the consequences of tobacco use.
As well, proposed regulations were tabled in the House of Commons to reduce the risk of fire from
cigarettes - the leading cause of residential fire-related deaths and injuries in Canada. And we
have recently taken the first steps to ban "light" and "mild" descriptors from all tobacco products.
In 2004-2005, we relaunched successful social marketing campaigns to help people quit smoking and
warn parents of the dangers of second-hand smoke in the home and car.
At the provincial level, many governments have either enacted or are considering smoke-free legislation.
Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have all banned smoking in public places, and Newfoundland,
Quebec and Ontario are moving towards becoming smoke-free in the near future.
Though we have made great progress this year, we recognize that there is still much to be done.
Tobacco remains the number one preventable cause of death in Canada. More than 45,000 people die
prematurely each year from tobacco use, and at least 1,000 of them are non-smokers.
This World No Tobacco Day, our efforts in tobacco control continue. On May 31, various events and
activities will take place across the country, many of them supported by Health Canada through the
Federal Tobacco Control Strategy.
Health Canada will also launch the new Quit4Life (Q4L) Web site, a bilingual, online resource designed
to help Canadians aged 14 to 19 quit smoking. These efforts will continue throughout the year, as
we strive to reduce death and disease caused by tobacco use.
For more information on Health Canada's Tobacco Control Programme, or for tools to help you quit
smoking, please visit www.gosmokefree.ca.
Ujjal Dosanjh
Minister of Health
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