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NLIS 2
April 12, 2001
(Justice)

 

Minister announces Select Committee of House of Assembly to review tobacco legislation

Justice Minister Kelvin Parsons today announced the appointment of a Select Committee of the House of Assembly to hear opinions from interested groups regarding An Act to Provide for the Recovery of Tobacco Related Health Care Costs.

The select committee will include Mr. Ross Wiseman (MHA-Trinity North), Mr. Eddie Joyce (MHA-Bay of Islands), Ms. Yvonne Jones (MHA-Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair) and Mr. Wally Andersen (MHA Torngat Mountains), Mr. John Ottenheimer (MHA-St. John's East), Mr. Loyola Sullivan (MHA-Ferryland), and Mr. Jack Harris (MHA-Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi).

"Government has announced and is implementing a comprehensive strategy to reduce the consumption of tobacco products, in particular by young people," said Minister Parsons. "In April 2000, I and my colleague, the Minister of Health and Community Services, announced government's intention to proceed with legislative changes to pursue legal action against tobacco companies."

"Government recognizes the tremendous health care costs associated with the treatment of tobacco-related illnesses and that those costs constitute a significant burden on the fiscal resources of the province," the minister continued. "That is why the Act to Provide for the Recovery of Tobacco Related Health Care Costs is so important."

The select committee will invite oral submissions from representatives of many groups including the Alliance for the Control of Tobacco, the Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian and Newfoundland Heart and Stroke Association, Canadian and Newfoundland Lung Association, Canadian and Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, Teen Tobacco Team, tobacco companies, Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council and others.

Interested groups may also submit written briefs to the select committee. Deadline for written submissions is April 27. The select committee will hold five days of hearings beginning April 30 and will report back to the House on its findings.

"I believe it is important that government hears from all sides in this debate," said Minister Parsons. "It is estimated that smoking kills 1,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians each year, and 45,000 Canadians. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 35 per cent of men and 28 per cent of women aged 15 and older are smokers. Among young people aged 13 to 18, 38 per cent smoke.

These figures are alarming. That is why government is acting to not only curb the number of people who smoke or who may start smoking, but to recover costs to the health care system associated with smoking."

Media contact: Lynn Barter, Communications, (709) 729-0084.

2001 04 12                                     1:40 p.m.


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