Health Committee on Dec. 9th, 2010

[Paul Glover]

I'll turn to my colleague, Jane Hazel, who is an expert in this area, Madam Chair.

[Jane Hazel, Director General, Marketing and Communications Services Directorate, Department of Health]

That's a very tough question. Social media, as you know, are very new tools, so there isn't the body of evidence that would link that to changes in behaviour.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

I'll ask the leading question: there isn't much evidence out there, is there?

[Jane Hazel]

We've used it in some of our other campaigns, which we're doing now, and we're seeing positive results.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

And there is a lot of evidence out there that labelling works. Is that correct?

[Jane Hazel]

I'll turn to my colleague to answer that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Ms. Sabiston.

[Cathy Sabiston]

Thank you.

Yes, there's significant evidence, both in Canada and worldwide, that health warning messages work. In the POR, to go back to that, it was very important that we appeal to all age groups. For those in the younger youth groups who smoke, the 18- to 24-year-olds, we actually tried to develop messages that would reach them and touch them.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

And we could do that by starting a Facebook page. We could leave this meeting and we could all start a Facebook page.

[Cathy Sabiston]

No. I was actually talking about the health warning messages themselves, the ones we focus-tested. They did not resonate with that age group. They found it very difficult. Their perspective on health warning messages is very different from that of older age groups, who are very touched by health messages and disease. They're more interested in--

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

There was evidence that they were touched by certain photos. Is that correct?

[Cathy Sabiston]

Not so much, no. They weren't successful with that age group, and that's why we have to continue to refine them. That's why I really strongly believe that we need to link it with other media and mechanisms to make sure it resonates with that group.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Sure. And it could all be done at the same time, as Dr. Strang has pointed out.

Dr. Strang, MPs here on the Hill were approached by tobacco companies with this idea that contraband is the way to go. This is where we need to focus our attention. You see it on their websites. You see the briefing documents.

Is this what you understand, that tobacco companies are the main proponents of dealing with contraband?

[Dr. Robert Strang]

That's certainly an issue they have raised. In the health community, contraband is one of a number of issues. As I said in my remarks, tobacco control, to be effective, requires a multi-faceted approach. While we need to be paying attention to contraband, we need to be paying attention to all the other things that we know will actually help people quit smoking and help prevent young people from starting to smoke.

The best way to deal with contraband is to help people not smoke in the first place or to quit smoking; therefore, they're not using cigarettes, contraband or legal. That requires a comprehensive approach of controlling advertising, pricing, access, and a whole range of things.

Again, I think moving ahead on health warning labels is important to do while we look at other things. It's important to communicate with young people while we move ahead on what's appropriate on contraband and while we continue to make sure that the taxation on cigarettes is appropriate. It's a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

And that's a good point, that if we can reduce smoking, it will actually have an impact on contraband.

Can you tell us a little bit about how the quit line would be part of a multi-faceted approach? What were you told in terms of whether or not the quit line would be on packaging? How would that be rolled out, and do you think that would be effective?

[Dr. Robert Strang]

Certainly. Part of the whole proposal around renewing health warning labels was the development of a single quit line. There are now a number of quit lines out there in different jurisdictions. It would be much more efficient and effective if we had one single quit line that was used across the country and we could drive people in all provinces and territories through that.

We know that for many people, all they need to help them quit smoking is some very brief intervention that could be done on a line like that, and they could be directed to some online resources, so it would be a very effective tool. Certainly our current approach could be made more efficient by having a single line. So we were really looking to have that as part of the renewed packaging on tobacco moving ahead.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Thank you.

This is my last question for you. You mentioned that in your role as an officer of health, you had an ethical obligation to uphold when it came to smoking and tobacco.

Can you tell us what the ethical obligation of a health department or a public health agency is?

[Dr. Robert Strang]

I agree that I have an ethical obligation as a health care professional. My remarks were actually that I have a professional and a legal responsibility. The Health Protection Act in Nova Scotia makes me accountable for taking action to protect the health of Nova Scotians. My professional training makes me, like any health professional, adhere to taking appropriate action. That's why part of my role is to then work on issues that are going to be effective in protecting the health of Nova Scotians. It's in the face of that responsibility that I raise my concerns about the interests of the tobacco industry being placed ahead of the health of Canadians and the needs of provinces and territories to have action taken that will help them control health costs so we can create a sustainable health care system.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Thank you.

I have one small question for Mr. Glover.

Did the warnings that were developed and recommended by the department feature Barb Tarbox?

[Paul Glover]

Yes. There were a number of images that we worked on with her estate. So there were several images that included Barb Tarbox in the work we did and had tested through POR.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Was there actually a quit line number? Was a number decided on?

[Paul Glover]

As part of our overall advice and research, as Mr. Strang said, we have been working with provinces and territories to try to find a way to leverage the various quit lines that exist in all jurisdictions. We have not fully resolved the issue. There are a number of outstanding concerns with a number of jurisdictions, but we continue to work on the feasibility of having one national quit line to be included as part of the proposed package.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you, Mr. Glover.

We'll now go to Dr. Carrie and Mr. Uppal. I understand you're sharing your time.

Dr. Carrie.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I want to thank everyone for being here and for the good work you have done on our tobacco strategy.

Mr. Glover, you mentioned in your opening statement how Canada compares to other industrialized nations. I think we should be commended on the results, because at the end of the day we're all on the same page in that regard.

But I want to get back to the multimedia strategies--you were interrupted there. I understand that some innovative approaches have been taken. There's an anti-smoking ad that was done in the territories that is quite effective, and I would encourage members around the table to take a look at that. In fact, I'll try to circulate it.

Would the best practices uncovered during H1N1 and the national anti-drug strategy assist in developing ideas to combat smoking?