Hockey Yes, Tobacco No

By 250 News

Troy Bourke and James Dobrowolski are the Cougars' 2011 tobacco-free Champions

Prince George, B.C. -  Northern Health, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Prince George Cougars launch the 6th season of their 'Hockey Yes, Tobacco No' campaign at this evening's game at CN Centre.

The launch coincides with the start of National Non-Smoking week, which has been celebrated across the country for the past 30-years.

Northern Health's Regional Tobacco Reduction Coordinator, Laura Johnston, says, "It's a way for us to do that 'education piece' by piggybacking on the national week and because the Cougars are really popular with the youth, it's a great opportunity for us to partner."

As part of that partnership, the Tobacco Reduction team will be handing out Prince George Cougars hockey cards, complete with tobacco-free messaging, to children attending tonight's game. The kiosk will be set up near Section L. So the kids can pick up their free cards throughout the game and, afterwards, the Cougars will come out to autograph them.

"It's really fun and it gets the kids understanding a little more about tobacco reduction and they have an opportunity to meet their heros from the ice," says Johnston.

The tobacco-use rate is about 15-percent in B.C.. That's the lowest rate in the country, but Johnston says the flipside is the rate is slightly higher in the Prince George and the Northern Interior where about 22-percent of the population uses tobacco products. She says the rate rises to between 26- and 27-percent in the Northeast and Northwest regions of the province. Johnston says there a number of reasons: smoke-free legislation and by-laws haven't been in place as long, tobacco use rates tend to be high in Aboriginal populations, and use rates tend to be higher in industry-based environments.

However, the Tobacco Reduction Coordinator says, "Teen smoking rates are the lowest they've been -- all across the country, not just in our area, but across the board." She says approximately 10-percent of 15- to 19-year-olds are using tobacco products. "And that's very low," she says, "Which is great, it just goes to show that all the work we've done around prevention for so many years, is actually paying off."

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