Tobacco: Let's Talk About It!

2. Tobacco Let’s Talk About It!

3. Give One – Get One • Give one: What do you already know about tobacco? • Get one: What new information would you like to get out of today’s discussion?

4. What is Tobacco? • Tobacco is a plant - also known as Nicotiana tabacum • Naturally contains over 2,500 chemicals - one of them being nicotine • When the tobacco plant is ripe, leaves are harvested, dried, fermented and aged • Processed leaves are now ready to be used in tobacco products

6. Tobacco Products • Smoked tobacco products • Cigarette • Cigar, Cigarillo and little cigars • Pipe • Waterpipe / Hookah • Smokeless tobacco products • Chew • Snus • Snuff • Heated tobacco products

7. Test your knowledge…

8. MYTH OR FACT? Chewing tobacco is safer than smoking tobacco. MYTH FACT

9. Smokeless ≠ Harmless • Chewing tobacco may not produce smoke but it doesn’t mean it’s harmless: • Contains over 3000 chemicals, 28 are known to cause cancer • Higher levels of nicotine than cigarettes • Use can lead to: • Heart problems • Stomach problems • Tooth and gum problems • White patches or sores in the mouth • Addiction to nicotine

10. MYTH OR FACT? Using chewing tobacco enhances sport performance. MYTH FACT It does not make you a better athlete

11. MYTH OR FACT? Cigars are not safer than cigarettes. MYTH FACT

12. FACT: Cigars are NOT safer • Exposure to toxins and chemicals is for a longer period of time • More tar than a cigarette • Increased risk of: • Cancer – lung, mouth, throat • Gum disease and tooth loss • Heart disease • Lung disease

13. MYTH OR FACT? Smoking doesn’t hurt anyone else but me. FACT MYTH

14. Second-Hand Smoke • Contains over 7000 chemicals, 69 are known to cause cancer • There is no safe level of second-hand smoke; everyone is at risk even if you don’t smoke Pets Unborn babies Infants and children Adults

15. Tobacco and the Environment

16. MYTH OR FACT? Hookah’s are definitely a safer option than smoking, the water filters out all the toxins. FACT MYTH

17. Hookah ≠ Safer • Water does not filter out toxins • Has the same health effects as cigarettes • It can be addictive • Produces second-hand smoke with the same toxins as cigarettes: • BUT higher carbon monoxide levels • Inhale 100-200 X’s more smoke than 1 cigarette in a 1hour hookah session

18. Hookah’s can = disease Sharing a hookah with others (even friends / family) can spread the following disease(s): • Hepatitis • Flu • Meningitis • TB • All of the above

19. MYTH OR FACT? The health effects of using and being exposed to heated tobacco products are currently unknown. MYTH FACT At this point, we do not know the health effects of heated products and there is no evidence to prove they are less harmful.

20. MYTH OR FACT? It’s the other chemicals in tobacco products and the smoke that are harmful - nicotine is nothing to worry about. FACT MYTH

21. Nicotine and the Brain The brain is still “under construction” until ~ age 25 Nicotine during “construction” can: • risk for mood disorders later on • risks for addiction and further substance use • Harm the part of the brain that helps to focus and learn • Sensitive to the rewarding effects of nicotine

22. MYTH OR FACT? Smoking kills 5 times more Canadians each year than traffic injuries, alcohol abuse, murder and suicide combined. MYTH FACT Tobacco is one of the only products when used as instructed kills 50% of its’ long-term users!

23. MYTH OR FACT? It is illegal to sell tobacco to youth under 19 but it is ok to give them tobacco. FACT MYTH It is illegal for anyone to give tobacco to youth < 19

24. Brainstorm: How do you think the tobacco industry markets its products?

25. … Big Tobacco targets YOU Potential new users (AKA YOU) are targeted / “recruited” by: • Packaging • Flavours • Advertising and promotional activities

26. MYTH OR FACT? It’s never too late to quit. MYTH FACT

28. Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 • Cannotsell or supply tobacco products to anyone under 19 years of age • Prohibited to sell, distribute or offer to sell or distribute flavoured tobacco products • Cannot smoke tobacco in the following places: • On hospital and other health care facilities grounds • In child care facilities / daycares • Enclosed workplaces and workplace vehicles • Enclosed public places • Common areas in condos, apartment buildings or university / college residences • In a vehicle with anyone > 16 years of age • Reserved outdoor seating venues

29. Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, continued… • Cannot smoke tobacco in any of the following places: • On school property and public areas within 20m of the perimeter of the grounds • Public areas within 20m of the perimeter of the grounds of a Community recreational facilities • On restaurant and bar patios and public areas within 9m of the restaurant or bar patio • On and within 20 metres of children’s playgrounds, sports fields and spectator areas etc.

30. How would you protect yourself?

31. Protect yourself and others… • Avoid places where people are smoking • Make your home and car smoke-free • Kindly asking people to not smoke around you and in places where they are not supposed to • If you see someone smoking illegally, contact your local Public Health Unit

32. Questions?