FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 6, 2017
Perth County ― Rachel Klaver and Nicki Van Bakel are members of the Perth District Health Unit’s THINK team. The THINK team is a group of youth working to educate and motivate their peers to take a stand against the tobacco industry.
THINK, along with other health groups across Canada, are calling for plain and standardized packaging that would prohibit all promotional features on tobacco packages. This includes things like colours, images, logos, slogans, distinctive fonts, and finishes. Only the brand name and graphic health warnings would be allowed on packages. This work supports the Government of Canada’s commitment for plain and standardized packaging requirements for tobacco products.
The tobacco industry designs their packages to target different types of smokers. Klaver says, “There are slim packs that look like lip gloss, have pink glittery foil and the cigarettes themselves are super skinny. These are obviously trying to target young women”. Plain packages would eliminate one of the last ways the tobacco industry can market their products to youth. Van Bakel says, “We want the next generation to be tobacco-free. We’re not going to let an industry continue to market a deadly product to us”.
The THINK team along with youth from across the province have been collecting signatures of support on their banner and will continue to raise awareness of why this legislation is important. Other countries around the world including Australia, United Kingdom, France and Ireland have all adopted similar measures.
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Rachel Klaver and Nicki Van Bakel (left to right) with their banner of support filled with signatures from their peers and a mock-up of a plain pack.
For more information:
- Check out Freeze the Industry on Facebook
- Call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 267
- Visit pdhu.on.ca/quitsmoking
- Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
