Breaking Through the Smoke

YELLOWKNIFE (June 5, 2009) –This year, 4,300 students across the north have participated in Smoke Screening 6, a joint school-based tobacco prevention program developed by the governments of Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon.The Smoke Screening program, now in its sixth year, provides an opportunity for students to view twelve of the best tobacco education ads from around the world. The ads encourage students to think about smoking from a variety of different perspectives and to discuss the issues with their peers.

The goal of Smoke Screening is not to ‘gross out’ or frighten young people, but to engage youth in discussions about tobacco, how it is promoted and its effects on health.

Students in grades six to twelve viewed the ads and selected the one they felt was most effective in encouraging them to try and quit or preventing them from starting. Votes from all three territories were mailed to their respective department of Health and Social Services and combined to select the winning ad.

Students selected Sponge as the best advertisement for the 2008 contest, which will be aired on local television in the coming months.

One winning ballot was drawn from each territory and the lucky students will receive an iPod Nano.

Youth and teachers responded very positively to the program with comments such as “Because Sponge shows the direct effects of smoking, you can see how disgusting and dangerous it is for someone who smokes. If this commercial was on TV I think it would make parents think twice about smoking!”, “It made me want to quit right away”, and “Very good, students appreciated being included in the decision making process.” Due to the success of this program, plans are underway to produce Smoke Screening 2010.

For more information contact:

Damien Healy
Communications
Department of Health & Social Services
Government of the Northwest Territories
Tel: (867) 920-8927