Tobacco

Play, Live, Be Tobacco-Free

Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death and disease in Canada. Locally our smoking rates are slightly higher than the provincial average with 22% of adults identifying themselves as smokers and 18% of high school aged youth.

To help residents become or stay tobacco free, we focus on prevention, cessation, protection, and enforcement.

Tobacco is highly addictive. It's easy to get hooked and hard to quit. If you are thinking about quitting, we can help.

Becoming tobacco free is also healthy for the people around you and will protect friends, family, unborn children - by clearing the air of the cancer-causing chemicals released in secondhand tobacco smoke.

A tobacco-free lifestyle and positive role modeling also helps youth choose to stay tobacco free. They need your help to withstand the tobacco industry marketing that works hard to hook youth to replace the tobacco users who keep dying from using their products - everything from cigarettes to chew tobacco and snus.

It's no secret it costs a business more to employ smokers than a non-smoker in terms of illnesses and time away from the job. Employers looking to support their staff to make healthy choices, can find it at Healthy Steps @ Work.

The Smoke-Free Ontario Act supports tobacco-free living. It bans smoking in all enclosed public and workplaces in Ontario, in vehicles carrying children under 16, and it regulates the sale and promotion of tobacco products.

A growing number of communities are now passing local bylaws to prohibit or severely restrict smoking outdoors in and around playing fields, playground equipment, parks, and beaches. These smoke-free outdoor bylaws have powerful prevention implications that will help keep youth from becoming tobacco users.

Families, coaches, and sport and recreation organizations can help too by establishing tobacco-free sports and recreation policies giving participants a chance to perform at their best.