Saskatchewan gets D+ for protecting people from tobacco

Several health groups are giving Saskatchewan a grade it calls “unacceptable” when it comes to protecting people from the harms of tobacco.

The Lung Association, the Heart and Stroke Association and the Canadian Cancer Society released its report card Tuesday morning giving the Saskatchewan government a “D+”.

“Saskatchewan has the highest youth smoking rate in Canada, which is nearly double the national average,” Donna Pasiechnik from the Canadian Cancer Society said in a news release.

“Unless we begin to seriously address this issue now, smoking-related illnesses will overwhelm our society and the health care system.”

The report card looks at 10 recommendations that have been made by the three health groups since 2009. Saskatchewan is far behind the rest of the country in following up with those recommendations.

“The Saskatchewan government is not keeping up with new evidence, citing a need to monitor before taking any action. We have gone ahead and produced this report that highlights new evidence and the policy changes happening across the country, in an effort to support decision makers to take action” Lorie Langenfurth from the Heart and Stroke Foundation said in the release.

Three people die every day in Saskatchewan due to smoking.