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.
About half as many Flin Flon students are lighting up compared to a decade ago, Superintendent of Schools Blaine Veitch estimates. The superintendent credits the drop both to anti-smoking school programs and an increased societal awareness of the dangers of the habit. "I think part of it is better education of children who understand the health risks that are involved," he said. "As well, I think parents and the public in general are more aware. When there are fewer people in general smoking, then children have less role models in that area." Both Hapnot Collegiate and Many Faces Education Centre have made smoking reduction a priority, Veitch noted. "The schools run a variety of different smoking cessation programs," he said. "As well, in our elementary schools, we've been working on programs to prevent students from starting." Hapnot principal John Clark previously remarked that he too has noticed a substantial decline in the number of smokers at his school. "I'm very pleased to say that many [more] students are making a wise choice with respect to smoking," he told the school board in 2002. The drop in Flin Flon is in line with a province-wide trend, as a new Statistics Canada survey shows the child smoking rate went down nearly 50 per cent between 1994 and 2002. A 1994 survey indicated that 12.4 per cent of Manitobans between the ages of 10 and 14 years old had smoked within 30 days of being polled. A 2002 survey found that rate had dropped to 6.4 per cent. "In a short period of time, to go 50 per cent down in the right target group is just wonderful," Healthy Living Minister Jim Rondeau told reporters.
