Smoke-Free Family

For the health of children, thank you for smoking outside.

The Smoke-Free Family awareness campaign educates the public about the health dangers of second-hand smoke, particularly for children. The campaign slogan “For the health of children, thank you for smoking outside,” clearly sums up the most effective strategy to protect children from this toxic smoke.

The Smoke-Free Family campaign is particularly relevant in Quebec where 9% of children aged 11 years and under (approximately 88,000¹) are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke—more than twice the amount for the rest of Canada (4%).² The primary source of exposure to second-hand smoke for children and many youth is the home.^{3, 4}

The Smoke-Free Family website (smokefreefamily.ca) offers advice and practical tools to help parents limit their children’s exposure to second-hand smoke, as well as information on second-hand smoke and its harmful effects. The website also debunks myths about second-hand smoke, including the myths surrounding the most common ways smokers try to minimize the smoke from cigarettes. The Facebook page provides a forum where parents can share stories and tips with other parents.

Smoke-Free Family is an ACTI-MENU initiative presented in partnership with several public and private organizations, including Quebec’s Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux and the Directions de santé publique, Health Canada, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Uniprix and the Canadian Cancer Society.

For more information, get in touch with Christine Blondeau at 514 985-2466, ext, 242, or at cblondeau@actimenu.ca.

¹ Institut de la statistique du Québec (2010). Population par année d'âge et par sexe, Québec, 1er juillet 2010. Accessed September 16, 2011.
http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/donstat/societe/demographie/struc_poplt/201_2010.htm

² Health Canada (2007, 2009). Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, Table 9: “Exposure of children at home to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), by province and age group.” Accessed May 19 and June 27, 2010.
http://www.hcsc.gc.ca/hc-ps/tobac-tabac/research-recherche/stat/_ctums-esutc_2009/ann-eng.php
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/tobac-tabac/research-recherche/stat/_ctums-esutc_2007/ann-table9-eng.php

³ Royal College of Physicians (2010). Passive Smoking and Children: A Report by the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians. United Kingdom. Accessed August 4, 2010. www.epha.org/a/3953

⁴ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2006). The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Executive Summary. Accessed August 4, 2010.
www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke