Take Down Tobacco Day

On Monday April 4th, I spoke in response to a Ministerial statement on Take Down Tobacco Day. My comments below are on the need to reduce smoking and also the need to reduce exposure to radon in Manitoba.

Mr. Gerrard: Madam Speaker, today is Take Down Tobacco day, a day when we need to dedicate ourselves to reducing smoking and reducing vaping, particularly that using nicotine, in our province.

Let's look back for a moment. Manitoba took a major step forward in 2003 and 2004. This included the establishment of an all-party committee on environmental tobacco smoke. The committee found it was time to ban smoking in indoor public places. A bill to achieve this was passed June the 10th, 2004 and came into effect October 2004. The result of this has been a continuing decline in smoking in the years since then, and we thank all those who have helped in this effort to reduce smoking in our province.

The most recent estimate of the rate of smoking in Manitoba was found to be 14 and a half per cent of Manitobans. Interestingly, the rate of smoking is lower in Manitoba than that in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, even though the incidence of lung cancer is higher in Manitoba than in the other western provinces. This means we should be looking not only at cigarettes but also at other factors–as an example, the presence of radon gas in people's homes.

Radon gas can cause lung cancer and can act together with smoking to significantly increase the rate of lung cancer. Manitoba has a higher proportion of homes with high radon levels than the other western provinces. While the governments of Manitoba have focused for the last 20 years on smoking as the principal culprit in causing lung cancer, they've neglected the attention that is needed with respect to addressing the high radon levels in many Manitoba homes.

Manitoba Liberals strongly support reducing smoking and vaping in Manitoba, particularly among our youth. We also believe it is critical to address and reduce the high levels of radon in far too many Manitoba homes.

Thank you. Merci. Miigwech.

Comments

Dougald Lamont speaks at Meth Forum last night to present positive ideas to address the epidemic, while exposing the lack of action by the Pallister Conservatives

Last night at the Notre Dame Recreation Centre in St. Boniface, at an Election Forum on the Meth Crisis in Manitoba, Dougald Lamont spoke eloquently about the severity of the meth epidemic and described the Liberal plan to address it. The Liberal Plan will make sure that there is a single province-wide phone number for people, or friends of people, who need help dealing with meth to call (as there is in Alberta) and that there will be rapid access to a seamless series of steps - stabilization, detoxification, treatment, extended supportive housing etc so that people with meth addiction can be helped well and effectively and so that they can rebuild their lives. The Liberal meth plan will be helped by our approach to mental health (putting psychological therapies under medicare), and to poverty (providing better support). It will also be helped by our vigorous efforts to help young people understand the problems with meth in our education system and to provide alternative positive

Comparison between Manitoba and South Dakota shows dramatic impact of Physical Distancing

Manitoba implemented physical distancing measures in mid-March. South Dakota has still not made physical distancing mandatory. The result is a dramatic difference in the incidence of covid-19 viral infections between the two jurisdictions. This graph shows the number of people with Covid-19 infections from March 27 to April 14. Manitoba ( red line ) started leveling off about April 4 and has seen only a small increase in Covid-19 infections since then. South Dakota ( blue line ) has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections since April 4. Those who are skeptical of the impact of physical distancing in Manitoba should look at this graph! Data are from the Johns Hopkins daily tabulations

Pushing for safe consumption sites and safe supply to reduce overdose deaths

On Monday June 20th, Thomas Linner of the Manitoba Health Coalition, Arlene Last-Kolb Regional Director of Moms Stop the Harm and Winnipeg City Councillor Sherri Rollins were at the Manitoba Legislature to advocate for better measures to reduce deaths from drug overdoses, most particularly for safe consumption sites and for a safe supply, measures which can reduce overdose deaths.

The Gerrard Report

Search This Blog