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Minister Regan Announces Funds For Smoking Cessation Programs |
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Written by Health Canada
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Wednesday, 09 November 2005 |
 HALIFAX, Nov. 9 - Health Canada will contribute $30,515 to the Halifax YWCA and $7,525 to Dalhousie University's Health Education Office to establish comprehensive smoking cessation programs targeting expectant and young mothers, and university students. The announcement was made today by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Member of Parliament for Halifax West
Geoff Regan, on behalf of Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.
"Initiatives such as these demonstrate the Government of Canada's continued commitment to protecting Nova Scotians from the harm associated with tobacco," said Minister Regan. "Given that two Canadian teenagers start smoking every 10 minutes, investing in smoking cessation services will help improve our province's overall public health."
The Halifax YWCA will partner with Capital Health's Addiction Prevention and Treatment Services and the Spryfield Single Parent Centre to offer the Take a Breath Smoking Cessation Program, to be piloted at the Dartmouth Family Resource Centre. This funding from today's announcement will be used to develop a smoking cessation program specifically designed to meet the needs of expectant and young mothers. The goal of the project is to reduce tobacco use among this population and to help limit second-hand smoke exposure to family members.
Another smoking cessation project led by Dalhousie University's Health Education Office, Leave the Pack Behind, will be designed to support students in their efforts to be tobacco free. Partnering on this project are the Nova Scotia Tobacco Control Unit, Capital Health and the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Nova Scotia. The project is expected to help reshape university communities throughout Nova Scotia so that tobacco products and their use are no longer seen as a norm. As a result, the Leave the Pack Behind project will generate self-sustaining tobacco control initiatives that can be effectively modelled at other post-secondary institutions with the hope that fewer young people across the province will begin smoking and fewer still will be exposed to second-hand smoke.
For information on how to make your home smoke-free or resources on how to quit smoking, go to http://www.GoSmokeFree.ca or call 1-800 O-Canada. |
