BC Teens Butt Out - Alberta Teens Light Up

Everyone can agree that those posters hanging on school walls depicting damaged bodies after years of smoking are pretty gross. They should, presumably, get the message across that cigarettes are awful for your health. And it appears as though most Canadian teens are getting the message.

According to the latest Health Canada figures, the percentage of young adults age 15 to 19 who smoke has been decreasing with each passing year, from 28 per cent in 1999 to 15 per cent in 2007. Though this is a great sign, statistics change slightly when looking at the numbers in individual provinces. While BC teens fall at the low end of the smoking spectrum with just nine per cent (down from 12.4 per cent in 2006) of smokers age 15 to 19, Alberta's rate soars above the national average with 20.1 per cent (actually up five per cent since 2006). So, while it seems that BC teens have butted out and continue to do so, one in five Alberta teens are still lighting up. For BC's next-door neighbours, the reports are alarming. Why is there such a vast difference?

"BC has never permitted billboard advertising of tobacco, and no longer permits tobacco event sponsorship," suggests Veda Peters, tobacco education coordinator of the BC Lung Association. "Advertising is about familiarity with a brand, not about the product itself. Tobacco has excelled at brand recognition."

To counter the tobacco companies, the province of Alberta has spent over $50 million on programs supporting anti-smoking since 2000 and has strong tobacco control laws. Alberta bans smoking in any public building and restricts usage of tobacco power-walls (those large displays of cigarettes behind cashier counters); however, Peters suggests that BC may be doing a better job of cracking down with its legislation. "Both BC and Alberta have strong tobacco legislation and high prices. BC has, I think, a much higher compliance rate for not selling to minors. The province operates a sting for retail outlets where continued flouting of the law can result in loss of business license. Still, where teens are determined to smoke, purchase is not an issue. Social sources can always be found."

By "social sources,"– one may assume Peters means peers, but one Alberta teenager actually faults parents. "I think parents play a big role in influencing the way children view smoking,"– says Gabrielle, 18, from Edmonton. "If one or both parents are always using cigarettes in front of their kids and never preach about negative effects, maybe this tells impressionable young people that smoking is perfectly fine and they should do it too."

Jen, 16, also from Edmonton, agrees: "If children have quick, easy access to cigarettes, they will be far more likely to use them. I've stolen from my mom's purse before, but I know kids who will just take butts off the ground and use those. They may also have older friends who can buy packs for them from stores. I see lots of minors standing in circles puffing away, so as long as smoking is still perceived as trendy, kids who want to fit in will pick up on it."

So it seems that even with price increases on cigarettes, health warnings and tougher laws, peer pressure and the media still play heavy roles in shaping a would-be smoker's decision. "Teens are most susceptible to [smoking] because they are on the verge of adulthood, striving to find identity and control," says Peters. "The industry finds ways to position itself in movies, on television and in print as a coping mechanism for all of life's stresses. Again, teens are influenced by what they see in the media, including the behaviour of their favourite celebrities. The industry is very cognizant of the role of the media."

Every province in Canada is still far away from having a zero per cent smoking rate, but steps are being taken to promote good choices. Jodi Lockhart, tobacco control coordinator of the Alberta and Northwest Territories Lung Association, praises the action some groups have taken. "BC and Alberta both have great programs directed towards youth smoking prevention and education. BLAST is a Lung Association program for junior-high-aged youth. It is a peer-to-peer tobacco reduction program that starts with a free weekend conference that prepares youth to deliver tobacco reduction activities in their own communities. British Columbia has bc.tobaccofacts, a set of tobacco prevention resources for teachers from kindergarten to grade 10 to help keep youth from starting to use tobacco."

BLAST and bc.tobaccofacts are just two examples of the many programs these provinces have to offer, but ultimately, it is up to teens themselves when they decide enough is enough. So the next time you're bored and considering starting something that you think will give you a higher social standing, think twice and listen to what this 14-year-old student from Edmonton has to say: "I don't understand why teenagers still see any benefit in smoking these days. There isn't one good reason to smoke anymore! This isn't the 1950s. Smoking is gross, dirty and does horrible things to your body - we all know that now. Kids who are still doing something as stupid as voluntarily killing themselves are only doing it because they want to look rebellious or cool. But it's not cool anymore."