Sask. has Canada’s highest rate of teen smoking: report
Saskatchewan teens are lighting up at nearly three times the average rate of their peers across the country.
New data from Health Canada shows 22 per cent of Saskatchewan teenagers aged 15 to 19 smoke cigarettes compared to the national average of eight per cent.
The information contained in the Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey has led the Canadian Cancer Society to renew calls for Saskatchewan to do more to prevent teen smoking.
“When we see the large numbers of youth smoking we need to create environments where that isn’t encouraged,” Cheryl Whiting, director of cancer prevention at the Canadian Cancer Society told 650 CKOM. “We need to help them (teenagers) to make healthy choices.”