March 11, 2008 - Today, Peer Leaders from YETI (Youth Engaged in Tobacco-free Initiatives) and MAKWA (Making Aboriginal Kids Walk Away from Tobacco Abuse) presented over 1000 postcards to MPP Bill Mauro calling for a ban on the sale of spit tobacco.
The advocacy groups work to educate youth about the dangers of tobacco industry products and the manipulative nature of the tobacco industry. They have collected signatures of residents of the Thunder Bay District who are in favour of banning spit tobacco, also called dip, snuff, and chew. This postcard campaign culminated during “Through with Chew Week”, the last week of February. The Peer Leaders presented the postcards to MPP Bill Mauro asking for his support in bringing their message to the Ontario government. Other Youth Action Alliance groups across the province held similar postcard campaigns.
“Spit tobacco is a growing problem in our community,” said MAKWA Peer Leader, Brent Fuhr. “Nearly 10 times as many youth in Northwestern Ontario have used spit in the past year than in the rest of the province.”
Spit tobacco is just as, if not more addictive than cigarettes, as one tin contains as much nicotine as 3 – 4 packs of cigarettes. Spit tobacco also contains over 3000 chemicals including 30 known carcinogens. Although the tobacco industry claims they do not target youth, their marketing techniques suggest otherwise. They place youth appealing tobacco ads in magazines that youth read, such as Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, and Maxim. New products continue to appear on shelves. Many of these are less expensive, discrete, and easier for first-time users (e.g., tobacco pouches) and feature candy flavours including green apple, cherry, peach, vanilla, and mint. A US Smokeless Tobacco executive was quoted saying, “Cherry Skoal is for somebody who likes the taste of candy, if you know what I mean…”
By educating youth and parents about the dangers of using spit tobacco, YETI and MAKWA hope to decrease the number of cases of illness and afflictions which can result from use, including halitosis (bad breath), yellow teeth, leukoplakia, heart disease, and gum and tooth disease, such as receding gums, cavities and chronic painful sores.
“We really think we can make a difference here,” said Fuhr. “Now is the time for the government to step in and ban this tobacco industry product, before it becomes an epidemic like smoking.”
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