The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Saskatchewan government is working to reduce tobacco use in the province, particularly among young people. In recognition of National Non-Smoking Week, which runs until Saturday, the province has launched the second phase of a youth anti-tobacco campaign, targeted at young people between the ages of 11 and 14 years. This age group is particularly vulnerable to experimenting with tobacco and the campaign encourages them to remain tobacco-free or quit using tobacco. 'This campaign has a strong anti-tobacco message coming from Saskatchewan youth, and we hope the voices of their peers will help persuade young people to stay tobacco free,' said Health Minister Dustin Duncan. The campaign includes a TV and cinema ad, and online and Facebook ads featuring comments from Saskatchewan youth about the negative impact of tobacco. The comments were collected during phase one of the youth anti-tobacco campaign in 2012 through smokestream.ca and classroom presentations to more than 3,000 Saskatchewan students. Saskatchewan's overall smoking prevalence decreased by 3.4 per cent between the 2007/2008 and 2009/2010, according to the Canadian Community Health Survey. In 2009/2010 (the most recent year for which data is available), 22.0 per cent of the Saskatchewan population aged 12 years and over reported smoking daily or occasionally, which is an all-time low. The national average is 20.4 per cent. _ Compiled from a Government of Saskatchewan news release
