Kahtou 0004
Jan. 2001
BC to host its first Youth Tobacco Summit
VANCOUVER - Young people from Victoria and the Lower Mainland met with Health Ministry staff in Vancouver to begin planning BC's first Kids Against Tobacco Summit to be held in February, announced Health Minister Corky Evans.
"KATS is a chance for interested youth to discuss and learn how to stop younger children and other teens from falling prey to the tobacco addiction trap," said Evans.
About 80 young people and 20 chaperones will be invited to attend the summit which will beheld at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Richmond from Feb 22 to 24. Participants will be chosen to represent all health regions in the province from nominations by the province's regional tobacco reduction coordinators. Throughout the 21/2 days, the young people will attend workshops, hear guest speakers and participate in activities to give them the skills to take action in their own communities.
Critics' Choice is a tobacco prevention program that lets students judge which ad is most effective from 12 of the best anti-tobacco ads around the world. Last year, over 60,000 students returned ballots. Teachers rated the program's overall effectiveness as 8.2 on a scale of 1 to 10 and the students' enthusiasm for the program as a learning tool as 8.7.
Critic's Choice -- Take 4 -- will be back in BC schools this year in December with a few new twists. BC Youth Tobacco Attach Team member Jessie Hemphill hosts this year's video reel of tobacco prevention ads. Another new addition is the Director's Cut, which invites students in grades 6 to 12 to submit their own ideas for anti-tobacco ads.
For youth who smoke and wish they had never started, the Ministry of Health developed Kick the Nic, a program to help young people quit smoking. Kick the Nic transit ads and posters will be displayed throughout the province for a month beginning in December to remind parents and students that help is available. Although the Ministry of Health provides the resources and training for Kick the Nic, the program's success depends on dedicated community volunteers. There are now trained Kick the Nic facilitators in 75 BC communities.
Gasp, another ground breaking BC resource, is a magazine for young people that tells the truth about tobacco. Gasp 2000 used personal stories, graphic images and factual information about tobacco industry practices and tobacco ingredients to convince young people not to start smoking. Gasp 2000 will be back in schools for National Non-Smoking Week Jan 15 - 19. It will be distributed to middle and secondary schools in BC, with its primary focus on grades 8 and 9, because this is the age when most young people decide whether to try smoking.
The Ministry of Health also has a few surprises planned for national Non-Smoking Week 2001, including presentations from tobacco survivors with heart-warning and inspiring stories, and the launch of the newest addition to its tobacco prevention poster series.
"After too many unsuccessful attempts to quit smoking on my own, I know the smartest decision is not to start smoking," said Evans. "BC has earned worldwide recognition for its gutsy, innovative approach to tobacco prevention and I intend to continue this course of action."