Source: www.canadaviews.ca
Author: Government of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan’s Health Minister is pleased to announce the winning anti-tobacco advertisement selected by Saskatchewan students participating in the View and Vote program. Students in Grades 6 to 12 were given the opportunity to view and vote on some of the best international, American and Canadian anti-tobacco television ads.

Two hundred and fifty seven schools in Saskatchewan participated in this year’s View and Vote program, which generated 14,000 student ballots. Nearly 3,200 students rated the Australian ad “Mouth Cancer” as most effective. This ad will be aired on Saskatchewan television stations starting January 17 during the National Non-Smoking Week.

“Encouraging our youth to be tobacco-free is an important step toward healthy, productive lives,” Health Minister Don McMorris said. “This project is an innovative way of reaching large numbers of young people and educating them about the addictive nature of tobacco and the effects of smoking. Studies show that if young people remain tobacco-free until they become adults, they are less likely to start using tobacco in the future.”

Students played an active role in the project. The ads were used as a tool to generate classroom discussions about the effects of tobacco use. Students then voted on the ad that they felt would keep them from starting to use tobacco or, if they already use tobacco, the ad that made them think about quitting.

View and Vote is one component of the provincial tobacco reduction strategy focusing on youth, which has three main goals: prevention activities that encourage communities to make healthy choices around tobacco use; to eliminate environmental tobacco smoke and prevent young people from accessing tobacco products; and to encourage and assist tobacco users to stop or reduce their use of tobacco.

The Ministry of Health thanks the students and teachers for their interest and participation in the program. View and Vote is a biannual youth initiative and it was first offered to schools across the province in 2007.