Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Alberta rejects therapy to quit smoking

From the Calgary Herald:
The Canadian Medical Association Journal is calling on provincial governments to publicly fund medications designed to help Canadians quit smoking, but Alberta is closing the door on the idea for now.

In an editorial published Monday, the authors suggest tax revenues collected on the sale of tobacco products could fund reimbursement for smoking cessation therapies.

Last year, 5.7 million Canadians -- or 20 per cent of those who are 12 and older -- smoked either daily or occasionally, according to Statistics Canada.

Among provinces, Alberta and Nova Scotia had the highest smoking rate, at 23.3 per cent.

The medical association editorial notes the number of smokers has remained relatively stagnant in recent years despite provincial and federal programs geared to help Canadians quash their nicotine addition. ...more

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