Prince George, B.C. – The eighth annual Healthier You Expo at the Civic Centre proved to be a huge draw for the people of Prince George on Sunday.

The event promotes healthy living and provides information on all types of health, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual and covers all age groups. Booths represented various businesses, health agencies and organizations including the CNC dental hygiene program, Crossfit Northern Ice, Northern Sport Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Northbreast Passage Dragon Boat Team, Chiropractic Acupuncture, Dehydrated Foods, BC Lung Association, Canadian Mental Health Association, Gambling Addiction, London Drugs, Target Pharmacy, WorkSafe BC,

Prince George Hospice Society, cosmetic therapy companies and more.

Several presentations were made including one from pharmacist Mike Lizotte. “We talk about how to help people save money on their medications, make sure people register with Pharmacare, ensure they understand their private drug insurance limits and what the drug insurance can do for them. What I will often look at is what other cost-saving measures could there be in terms of can we use a brand name or a generic, are there pay-assist programs through the manufacturers that can help offset some of these costs?”

Lizotte says other possibilities include “calling the doctor to get a drug switched to something else, combining medications into one pill instead of taking two. We talk about dispensing fees and the differences between pharmacies and how to work the pharmacy a little bit to save money on dispensing fees. And then we always talk about staying healthy. The cheapest way to deal with prescriptions is to avoid taking them altogether. So we talk about staying healthy, quitting smoking, washing your hands and getting a flu shot.”

And, coincidentally, with influenza season right around the corner flu shots just happened to be available to those attending the expo. Northern Health provided the shots free of charge and hundreds of people took advantage of the opportunity. It meant a waiting period (photo below) but it didn’t seem to ruffle any feathers on a Sunday afternoon.

Oh and there was plenty to do for the youngsters, with a play room set up by the Northern Y and mascots Rowdy Cat, Kingston and Sparky on hand to “high five” and get pictures taken with the youngsters.