northern child and youth

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northern child and youth An electronic publication of the UNBC Task Force on Substance Abuse, Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs Summer 2006 Vol.

1 northern child and youth An electronic publication of the UNBC Task Force on Substance Abuse, Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs Summer 2006 Vol.4 Issue3 In this issue: TOBACCO, CHILDREN, AND YOUTH TOBACCO COMPANIES DON T WANT KIDS TO SMOKE. RIGHT? SECOND HAND SMOKE SPIT TOBACCO BENEFITS OF BECOMING TOBACCO FREE PETS SMOKE TOO! The Centres of Excellence are a Public Health Agency of Canada- funded program. Production of this newsletter has been made possible through a financial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

2 In 2000, five Centres of Excellence for Children s Well- Being were established by Health Canada. One of the Centres, The Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs (comprised of 5 Task Forces) is centralized at Lakehead University (Learning and Communication) in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The national partners (Task Forces) each address a specific area of children s well-being: Memorial University in Newfoundland (Nutrition), Mount St. Vincent University in Nova Scotia (Early Intervention), University of Northern British Columbia (Substance Abuse) and the Government of Nunavut (Mental Health). The Centre is also involved with over 200 community, government and corporate partners across Canada. The Task Force at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) undertakes research on issues relating to substance abuse, particularly how it is related to a variety of special needs such as FASD. Substance abuse is a problem for many young Canadians. Alcohol, drugs, and solvents are a primary concern. In rural and northern communities, substance abuse programs for youth are often limited or unavailable. We need to make programs available that are specific to the needs of youth living in these remote communities. The Centre of Excellence is committed to ensuring that young people with special needs living in rural and northern communities receive the best services Canada has to offer. SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND THE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS You can contact any Task Force in the Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs by visiting the National Website at You are also welcome to contact the UNBC Task Force on Substance Abuse. Our website is Our address is special@unbc.ca CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS UNBC TASK FORCE ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE 3333 UNIVERSITY WAY, PRINCE GEORGE BC V2N 4Z9. PHONE :( 250) FAX :( 250) Tobacco smoke kills over 45,000 people in Canada each year. That's more than the total of all murders, alcohol-related deaths, car accidents, and suicides. The [tobacco] industry survives by capturing young smokers under per cent of today's smokers in Canada and the United States come from people under the age of 18. And in fact if you hook them young, you hook them for life. And that's the philosophy [the tobacco industry] use; they prey on the children. Children are the future sales, future profits. Dr. Jeffery Wigand (The Insider) TOBACCO COMPANIES DON T WANT KIDS TO SMOKE. RIGHT? The Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (LTDL) contains 7 million documents related to advertising, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and scientific research of tobacco products. These records were collected from legal action against tobacco companies. Due to changes in government policies, the Tobacco companies must now disclose all documents. These documents are accessible through a number of libraries worldwide. These records tell us that Tobacco Companies conduct widespread marketing investigations in order to find out what is important to youth about lifestyle, social habits, aspirations, and their attitudes about smoking (or not smoking). This information is then used in tobacco advertising in order to sell tobacco products to these particular aspects of youth life.

The documents show that the tobacco industry: Observed young people as young as five, some studies did not even set a lower age limit. As one executive stated "they got lips, we want them".

Began studies on how to manipulate youth anxieties into making smoking more attractive.

3 The documents show that the tobacco industry: Observed young people as young as five, some studies did not even set a lower age limit. As one executive stated "they got lips, we want them". Considered using honey as a sweetener in tobacco products and comic strips in addition to advertising, to persuade youth to smoke. Investigated ways of preventing teenagers from quitting tobacco use. Began studies on how to manipulate youth anxieties into making smoking more attractive. The documents also show that: Advertising strategies started to present cigarettes as an aspect of the transition to adulthood a decision which, like sex, is considered one of a few initiations into the adult world. Advertisers set out to equate cigarettes with rebellion, self-expression, confidence, independence, freedom, and adult identity, (masculinity for boys and femininity for girls). The tobacco companies advertise in sports magazines and sponsor racing events as new venues to market to youth. SECOND HAND SMOKE A non-smoker breathing second-hand smoke can be exposed to 4,000 different chemicals; 50 of which are linked with or known to cause cancer. Second-hand smoke has twice as much nicotine and tar as the smoke inhaled by the smoker. It also has five times the carbon monoxide (which decreases the amount of oxygen in your blood). Second-hand smoke has been linked to heart disease, lung cancer in adults and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, bronchitis, respiratory infections, asthma, and middle ear infections in children. This includes homes where smoking is restricted to a certain area of the home and in homes where rules exist about not smoking when children are present and only smoking outside the house. Remember that to tobacco companies this is a product they are selling youth are potential buyers. The goal is profit and the survival of an industry. Due to anti-tobacco use campaigns in most industrialised countries and new laws about tobacco advertising, the tobacco industry is now focussing on creating new markets in third world countries. Often these are countries in which the health education about tobacco products is sadly lacking and the people with the fewest resources are the main target of tobacco companies advertising. ( tobacco/publications/mdg_final_for_web.pdf) DID YOU KNOW? More than 5 million children alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses? Nearly every adult who smokes (almost 90 percent) took his or her first puff at or before the age of 18? Increasing tobacco taxes is an effective way to prevent and reduce smoking, especially among kids? (

SPIT TOBACCO Spit tobacco is a type of tobacco product that is placed inside the mouth (referred to as a wad ). This gives the user a continuous supply of the drug nicotine.

PLUG: chew tobacco that has been pressed into a brick. SNUFF: a powdered, moist form of tobacco sold in tins. Using snuff is also called dipping.

4 SPIT TOBACCO Spit tobacco is a type of tobacco product that is placed inside the mouth (referred to as a wad ). This gives the user a continuous supply of the drug nicotine. Spit tobacco is sold in three forms: CHEW: a leafy form of tobacco sold in pouches. Users keep the chew between the cheek and gums for several hours at a time. PLUG: chew tobacco that has been pressed into a brick. SNUFF: a powdered, moist form of tobacco sold in tins. Using snuff is also called dipping. Many people think using spit tobacco is safer than smoking. However, a person who uses eight to 10 dips or chews a day receives the same amount of nicotine and poisons as a heavy smoker who smokes 30 to 40 cigarettes a day. Spit tobacco is made from a mixture of tobacco, nicotine, sweeteners, abrasives, salts and chemicals. It contains over 3,000 chemicals including about 28 known carcinogens. Spit Tobacco use is increasing among youth. Some of the reasons for this phenomenon may be: Increased smoking bans in schools, worksites and public places. The use of positive macho images of spit tobacco in advertising Introduction of sweeter and milder brands of chew. The suggestion that spit tobacco improves athletic performance. SEAN S STORY Sean Marsee had won 28 medals at track meets. He was a very popular and respected athlete at his high school. Thinking it was safe; Sean began chewing dip tobacco in his midteens. Then one day he tried to quit. I tried to quit the dip, Mom. I can't do it." "That's ok, son, try again. I believe in you." Sean tried again, and failed to quit. He tried again and again, but he could not stop. Sean was 19 years old when he died from cancer caused by using spit tobacco. Some of the poisons in Spit Tobacco are: Polonium 210 (nuclear waste) N-nitrosamines or TSNAs (cancer causing agents only found in tobacco) Formaldehyde (embalming fluid) Uranium 235 & 238 (used in nuclear weapons) Cadmium (used in car batteries) Cyanide (used in the gas chamber) Arsenic (rat poison) Nicotine (addictive drug) Lead Some spit tobacco also contains fibreglass and sand. This is done to make tiny cuts in the mouth in order to ensure that users absorb more nicotine and chemicals into their blood stream. "Sean, what if, by some miracle, you could get a message to other teens? Do you have any words you'd like them to hear?" Sean nodded because without his tongue he could not talk and he gestured for pen and paper. His hands trembled and his eyes welled as he began to write, perhaps in part from the pain he was in. He struggled to write down these words, as his message to all of you: "Don't dip snuff." Sean s story can be found on this website.

Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. Right now, tobacco use is responsible for the death of one adult in ten worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year).

5 Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. Right now, tobacco use is responsible for the death of one adult in ten worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). If present smoking patterns continue, it will result in 10 million deaths each year by Half the people that currently smoke -approximately 650 million people- will eventually die from tobacco use (World Health Organization, 2004). There are many reasons why people shouldn't start using tobacco or why they should quit. A lot of the consequences are long-term, which is hard to think about when you are young. Using tobacco affects your ability to play sports, turns your teeth yellow, gives you wrinkles and it makes you smell bad. Tobacco use is also linked to lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, Sudden Infant Death syndrome, childhood asthma and many other preventable diseases. THE BENEFITS OF BECOMING TOBACCO FREE START AS SOON AS YOU BUTT OUT YOUR CIGARETTE! WITHIN 20 MINUTES Blood pressure drops to normal. Pulse rate returns to normal. Body temperature of hands and feet increases to normal. 8 HOURS Carbon monoxide in your blood drops to a normal level. Oxygen level in blood increases to normal. 24 HOURS The risk of heart attack decreases. 48 HOURS Nerve endings start re-growing. Ability to smell and taste improves. 72 HOURS Bronchial tubes relax, making breathing easier. Lung capacity increases. 2 WEEKS - 3 MONTHS Circulation improves. Lung function increases up to 30%. 1-9 MONTHS Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease. Cilia (small hairs) re-grow in bronchial airways increasing the ability to clear mucus and reduce infection. Overall energy level increases. 1 YEAR The risk for heart disease is reduced by half. The risk of stroke returns to the level for non-smokers. 10 YEARS The risk of lung cancer drops to half of that for smokers. 15 YEARS The risk of death returns to that of nonsmokers. The risk for heart disease is similar to that of non-smokers.

6 PETS SMOKE TOO! There is a lot of scientific evidence to suggest that secondhand smoke can cause cancer in pets. Pets don't just inhale smoke; the smoke particles are trapped in their fur and swallowed when they groom themselves with their tongues. A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that dogs in smoking homes had a 60 percent greater risk of lung cancer; while another showed that long-nosed dogs, such as collies or greyhounds, were twice as likely to develop nasal cancer if they lived with smokers. In an additional study, vets from Tufts University found that cats whose owners smoked were three times as likely to develop lymphoma, the most common feline cancer. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TOBBACO USE CHECK OUT THESE WEBSITES AND DOCUMENTS! - See what additives are in a particular brand of cigarettes. - Lots of information and interactive pages here for kids, teens and adults. - Center for Disease Control Tobacco Information and Prevention Source. This website also offers free videos on the effects of smoking, posters and other instructional aids. - Information and support for becoming smoke free. - CBC News In-depth Investigation on Smoking, November 19, Youth Opposing Network Tobacco in New Hampshire Photos of the effects of smoking. - Quit Now Australia Many downloadable products. - World Health Organization (WHO) on Smoking. - Mind, Body, Soul - Health facts for year olds. - Lifebytes - Health facts for year olds. - Canadian Council for Tobacco Control Includes Heather Crowe s story of her battle with lung cancer and subsequent death from second hand smoke. - Big Tobacco and Women... what the tobacco industry's confidential documents reveal. - What is Spit Tobacco? (A PowerPoint presentation). - Legacy Tobacco Documents Library.

SMOKELESS TOBACCO/CHEWING TOBACCO TOOLKIT

SMOKELESS TOBACCO/CHEWING TOBACCO TOOLKIT Key Messages Smokeless (spit) tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco is addictive. Smokeless tobacco contains over 3,000 chemicals,