Media Advisory

National Non-Smoking Week
January 21-27, 2007

National Non-Smoking Week (NNSW) has been observed for over 25 years. From its inception in 1977, the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control has coordinated NNSW activities.

This year, the central theme "I Quit For…" supports the hundreds of programs available and the efforts of those across Canada dedicated to cessation and protection. Further details about NNSW or other tobacco control information can be found by visiting www.cctc.ca. Posters for the NNSW theme "Live, work and play... Even better smoke-free" are still available on the Heather Crowe Resource Centre.

Why the Concern about Tobacco Use?

Tobacco use is the most significant cause of preventable disease, disability, and premature death in Canada, responsible for more than 37,000 deaths every year. Tobacco kills three times more Canadians each year than alcohol, AIDS, illegal drugs, car accidents, suicide, and murder -- all combined!
Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke also poses serious risks to health. Adults who live with a smoker have a 30% greater chance of getting lung cancer and a 20-30% increased risk of dying of heart disease. Children regularly exposed to tobacco smoke have a higher risk of developing various health problems, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, and asthma.

Background on the Importance of NNSW

The goals of National Non-Smoking Week are to:
· educate Canadians about the dangers of smoking;
· prevent non-smokers from beginning to smoke and becoming addicted to tobacco;
· help smokers quit;
· promote the right of individuals to breathe air unpolluted by tobacco smoke;
· denormalize the tobacco industry, tobacco industry marketing practices, tobacco products, and tobacco use; and
· assist in the attainment of a smoke-free society in Canada.
The idea behind Weedless Wednesday, being held January 24 this year, is to promote a "one day at a time" approach to quitting smoking, a concept appealing to the many smokers who may be discouraged at the thought of an entire week - or lifetime - without cigarettes, but who may be able to cope by starting with one smoke-free day.

National Non-Smoking Week is truly a pan-Canadian endeavour, involving agencies and individuals working at the federal, provincial/territorial, regional and local levels.

National Non-Smoking Week celebrates the end of a successful year in tobacco control in Canada, which included such highlights as an increasing number of municipalities going smoke-free and the launch of many cessation and prevention programs. As well, planning is well under way for the upcoming 5th National Conference on Tobacco or Health to be held October 1-3, 2007, hosted by the city of Edmonton, Alberta, and the anticipation is building.

National Non-Smoking Week also represents the beginning of a new year, one that will see governments, health organizations and charities, volunteers and tobacco control advocates preparing to work together and lead the ongoing fight against a local and global public health epidemic

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Contact:
Robert Walsh
(613) 567-3050 x 107
rwalsh@cctc.ca

Areas of Expertise: * Addiction * Cancer * Cardiac Disease Prevention * Chewing Tobacco * Children/Smoking * Cigar Smoke * Cigarette Addiction * Denormalization * Environmental Tobacco Smoke * Health * Health Information * Health Promotion * Health Research * Heart Disease * Legislation * Lobbying/Lobby Groups * Lung Disease * National Non-Smoking Week * Nicotine * Nicotine Replacement Therapy * Non-Smokers * Public Education * Secondhand Smoke * Smoke-Free Bylaws * Smoke-Free Spaces * Smoking Cessation * Smoking Policies * Tobacco Addiction * Tobacco Diseases * Tobacco Industry * Tobacco Research * Tobacco Statistics * Tobacco Taxation * Weedless Wednesday * Women & Heart Disease * Women/Smoking * Workplace Smoking * World Health Organization * World No-Tobacco Day * Youth/Smoking

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