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Health advocates are urging the province to act in order to get people in Saskatchewan to butt out.
According to the most recent Canadian Tobacco Alcohol and Drug Survey, the province has the highest smoking rates among youth at 22 per cent.
Nationally, that rate is just eight per cent.
“Those youth smoking rates are shocking in our opinion,” said Donna Pasiechnik, a policy analyst for the Canadian Cancer Society.
“The reason we believe they are so high is because we have failed to do those things that reduce tobacco use in the province. It’s been nearly 10 years since we amended the Tobacco Control Act.”
Among adult smokers, Saskatchewan ranks second behind Newfoundland.
Pasiechnik is also part of the Saskatchewan Coalition for Tobacco Reduction, which has a number of recommendations for the government.
They include creating more smoke-free places by banning smoking on patios, playgrounds and sports fields, and hookah smoking wherever smoking is banned in public.
According to polls, 75 per cent of people are in favour of banning smoking on patios and 95 per cent are in favour of making playgrounds smoke-free, Pasiechnik said.
The coalition is also asking the government to restrict vape sales and to ban flavoured tobacco, which she said encourages young people to smoke.
“Flavours mask the harsh taste of tobacco, making it harder for kids to experiment and become addicted to nicotine,” Pasiechnik said.
“The federal government has banned most flavoured products … but there are still products, cigars for example, over six grams in flavours like chocolate and grape and cherry that are out there available for kids and young adults.”
Other recommendations from the coalition include raising the legal purchasing age to at least 19 and hiking tobacco taxes.
Tobacco is believed to kill more than 1,500 people in Saskatchewan each year and Pasiechnik cites the Conference Board of Canada, saying smoking costs the province $200 million per year in health care costs.
She said these are measures health groups have demanded for years.
“I’m calling on the public to call the Minister of Health Jim Reiter, call your MLA and tell them you want action on this issue,” she said.
“It’s 2019. The public is so done with having to deal with second-hand smoke.”
