Item - 2018.HL26.8

The Board of Health:

1.  Requested the federal Minister of Health to make federal funding available through the new federal Tobacco Control Strategy to support the ongoing work of the tobacco control community.

Tobacco use, including smoking, remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Canada. Despite substantial declines in smoking, further reductions have stalled; people are still regularly exposed to second-hand smoke and some populations continue to smoke at high rates and need support to quit. It is therefore imperative that the comprehensive federal tobacco control strategy be appropriately resourced.

The Toronto Board of Health has recently supported and endorsed the Renewal of the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy and the Renewal of the Smoke Free Ontario Strategy, both of which set an ambitious target of reducing smoking prevalence to 5 percent or lower by 2035.

The decline in tobacco use and exposure has been achieved and maintained through the combined efforts of the tobacco control community, including Public Health Units, tobacco control researchers, advocacy groups, and organizations that monitor, evaluate, and support local and regional public health agencies. It is critical that this enabling system be sustained to ensure the new national tobacco control strategy is fully implemented and the ambitious federal goal of 5 percent smoking prevalence is achieved. The federal government can play a key role in this endeavour.