Over the weekend, Queen’s held a summit to discuss strategies to reduce the use of commercial tobacco in Canada to below five percent by 2035.
The Tobacco Endgame Summit was hosted as part of the University’s 175th anniversary celebrations, and tabled various proposals by many of the top medical minds of the country.
A major finding of the summit for tobacco usage was that a national cabinet, comprised of several related organizations, should be formed.
This Endgame Cabinet would ensure the public is kept aware of the risks of smoking and the benefits of not, while also ensuring all levels of government continue to invest time and money into continued pressure on the tobacco industry.
Canada’s expenditure on smoking reduction falls below the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s recommended spending amount of $10.50 per capita on preventing smoking related issues.
The summit found that increased taxation of the tobacco industry, reduction in smoking related diseases and increased lifespan and productivity will make the Endgame a self-sustaining endeavour.
The summit also highlighted the importance of reducing new smokers, by combatting the view of tobacco as something to be controlled and instead, promoting to younger generations that Canada should hope for a tobacco-free future.
The Endgame Cabinet would work with people across Canada in ensuring the Canadian government follows through on the goal and actual progress is made.
Further, the gathering of health professionals put forward a major way to curb future generations from taking up smoking would be to prohibit the sale to any person born after 2000.
This, along with increased efforts to cut sales to minors, would effectively ensure that tobacco usage drops dramatically.
At the end of the day, the summit confirmed that a societal change is required to end tobacco usage.
Tags
anti-smoking, cigarettes, summit, tobacco
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