Mr. Speaker, Thursday, May 31, 2012, is World No Tobacco Day.
This year, the World Health Organization has chosen “tobacco industry interference” as the theme of World No Tobacco Day.
The advertising campaign, which focuses on intimidation, will highlight the need to expose and counter—and I quote the WHO—“the tobacco industry's brazen and increasingly aggressive attempts”. This global epidemic kills nearly six million people every year, more than 600,000 of whom die from exposure to second-hand smoke.
I would therefore like to encourage Canadians to kick the habit and stop smoking. I would also like to express my great admiration for all young people who decide not to start smoking and to live a smoke-free life.