Tobacco Consumption In Canada

1069 Words5 Pages
SOSC 2330 THE ECONOMICS OF LAW, POLICY AND ORGANISATION. Smoking costs governments millions of dollars because of the large number of people who need treatment in hospitals for smoking related problems. Tobacco consumption is by far the leading cause of premature deaths and deceases in Canada. According to Health Canada more than 37,000 people will die this year due to smoking. Of those, more than 300 non-smokers will die of lung cancer and at least 700 non-smokers will die of coronary heart disease caused by exposure to second-hand smoke. This number is five times more than the number of Canadians who die from traffic injuries, alcohol abuse, murder and suicide combined. Picture a tobacco free society where smoking is outlawed! What are the chances of that happening? Likely impossible but there has to be a small possibility of preventing people from smoking. Canada has made more progress in tobacco control in recent years than have most other countries in the world. The percentage of the Canadian population that smokes cigarettes has been dropping steadily since anti-smoking efforts began in earnest in the 1970s. Canada has had many tobacco control initiatives, including multi-year federal strategies that began in 1986. None have been as comprehensive as the current Federal Tobacco Control Strategy. The federal government is not the only government interested in tobacco control activities. Since health in Canada is a shared jurisdiction between federal, provincial and territorial governments, all levels of government are concerned with the burden placed on our healthcare systems as a result of tobacco related diseases. The Ontario government took major steps to lower tobacco consumption in Ontario. Tobacco control interest groups–organizations committed to reducing the cultural acceptability of tobacco use– have an important role to play in informing and
Open Document