WATERLOO - Three smoking behaviour researchers at the University of Waterloo are hoping World No-Tobacco Day this Sunday will remind people of a crucial fact -- smoking remains the single most significant and avoidable cause of death among people around the world, including Canadians.

Close to five million Canadians still smoke. Half the long-term smokers can expect to die of smoking-related diseases, on average 10 years younger than their non-smoking peers.

The World Health Organization recognizes the harm caused by tobacco and has established May 31 as World No Tobacco Day. This year's focus is on one of the more effective deterrents -- picture warnings.

Two of UW's researchers focus on the impact of pictures on cigarette packaging. The third runs Canada's largest survey on youth attitudes towards smoking. All are willing to share their perspectives with media working on stories for World No Tobacco Day.

Dr. Geoffrey Fong, principal investigator of a 20-country study on the impact of smoking policies, believes Canada must reclaim its position as a world leader in tobacco control.

Dr. Fong is a professor of psychology and health studies at the University of Waterloo, as well as senior investigator at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. He is also founder and chief principal investigator of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (the ITC Project), involving 80 researchers across 20 countries, including Canada and the United States. It also includes key countries, such as China and India, where the global tobacco epidemic will be especially serious. The project evaluates psychosocial and behavioural effects of national-level tobacco control policies of the first-ever international treaty on health -- the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Dr. Steve Manske, a scientist with UW's Centre for Behavioural Research and Program Evaluation, maintains the tobacco industry is using chocolate and strawberry flavoured cigarillos to entice young smokers.

While warning labels on cigarettes may help smokers quit and prevent young people from starting to smoke, some young smokers will never see these labels because they are purchasing illicit cigarettes or getting them individually from friends.

Dr. David Hammond, assistant professor of health studies and gerontology, has conducted research demonstrating that warning labels are effective.

Canada is a leader in developing health warning labels to help Canadians understand the dangers of smoking. Hammond has conducted studies on the effectiveness of these warning labels and says growing evidence shows they can help smokers stop smoking and help prevent young people from starting to smoke.
Dr. Hammond is an assistant professor in the department of health studies and gerontology at the University of Waterloo. His research examines the effectiveness of population-level health interventions, much of it focused on developing evidence-based guidelines for the first-ever international treaty on health -- the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.