Did you know that May 31 is World No-Tobacco Day, declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). And even if awareness has been growing steadily over the past few decades, the fact remains that in Quebec, smoking claims 35 victims a day. It is responsible for the deaths of nearly 13,000 Quebecers every year. Tobacco consumption is the world's leading cause of preventable illness and death. It has major repercussions on smokers and on all living beings around them.

Anyone over the age of 40 probably remembers seeing people in bars (a law was passed in 2006 to ban smoking), in restaurants, when they started out with sections reserved for smokers, and respect for this so-called section was often left to the goodwill of restaurant owners who didn't want to displease their clientele.

Those over 65 no doubt remember smoking in offices, hospitals and most means of transport, even planes and trains. Then came the introduction of non-smoking sections in transport, which wasn't an unqualified success either, as the smoke escaped everywhere or forced smokers to practically faint in a smoky, overcrowded mini-section.

In Quebec, both smokers and non-smokers have been made aware over the years of the effects of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke through a number of media campaigns and the adoption of legislation restricting smoking in certain places. Since 1998, successive provincial laws have banned smoking in workplaces and public places, on school grounds, and within a nine-metre radius of entrances to health, social services and educational establishments, day-care centers, etc., as well as in public places.

Once again this year, on World No Tobacco Day, WHO and public health advocates from around the world will join forces to raise awareness of the tobacco industry's harmful influences on young people. Protecting children from tobacco industry interference is the theme of World No Tobacco Day 2024.

This theme is a plea to stop targeting youth with harmful tobacco products. It provides a forum for young people, policy-makers and tobacco control advocates around the world to discuss the issue and urge governments to adopt policies that protect young people from the manipulative practices of the tobacco and related industries. Although tobacco use has declined over the years, thanks to the phenomenal efforts made by those involved in tobacco control, more needs to be done to protect these vulnerable groups.

Find out more on the WHO World No Tobacco Day page : 

https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-no-tobacco-day

Worldwide, according to data from 2022, at least 37 million young people aged 13 to 15 use some form of tobacco. 

If you visit the Québec sans tabac portal, you'll find a wealth of information on tips and methods for quitting smoking, as well as on how to ask for help, get information, prevent or stop smoking:

https://www.quebecsanstabac.ca/?

May 31, 2024 could be the best time to think about it, make up your mind or ask for help. And why not?