"Anti-smoking campaigns have had a real impact in Nova Scotia but the habit still costs people in the province close to $1 billion each year, say the authors of a new report."
September 20, 2007, The Nova Scotia Business Journal ~ Paul McLeod
"You've gotta spend to save. The Canadian Cancer Society and GPI Atlantic sent that message to the province Wednesday when they called for twice as much anti-smoking funding."
September 20, 2007, The Amherst Daily News ~ Editorial
"$1 billion can buy a lot of cigarettes, but that's what it's costing this province in sickness, lost time at work, productivity losses and the impact on an already struggling health-care system."
"A new report applauds Nova Scotia's efforts to reduce smoking rates since 2000, but the study — commissioned by the Canadian Cancer Society — also says the province's anti-smoking campaign has stalled in the past three years."
The full economic and social costs of tobacco use in Nova Scotia were reported by GPI Atlantic in The Cost of Tobacco in Nova Scotia (2000). This current report uses the latest and most widely accepted research and analytical techniques to update and enhance our knowledge of the
real costs of tobacco use to Nova Scotians. This update is necessary in light of recent research findings, and because new results have become available to provide evidence of the impacts of comprehensive tobacco control strategies in other jurisdictions. Most importantly, tobacco use in
the province has declined significantly since 2000, largely as a result of comprehensive tobacco reduction strategies implemented by the Province of Nova Scotia, so the trends outlined in the 2000 report (based on the most recent 1999 data available at that time) also required updating.
