Government of Canada encourages healthy living in Canadians through smoking cessation program

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, has announced an important investment that will help encourage Canadians to quit smoking and lead healthier lives. Health Canada is providing just over $2.4 million dollars in funding to the Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation for a project that will assist hospital out-patients with smoking cessation. "The Government of Canada remains committed to protecting all Canadians from the proven health hazards associated with tobacco use," said Minister Aglukkaq. "Today's funding is a step towards ensuring we get Canadians the help they need to quit smoking." Funding from today's announcement will go towards a project entitled "Extending Tobacco Treatment Excellence: a National Dissemination of Systems". The goal of this project is to implement a smoking cessation program in 21 out-patient clinics that will provide advice to 15,000 smokers and facilitate best practices and knowledge sharing. The project will also provide training for 2000 health care providers on tobacco addiction treatment including the development of policies and training tools. Partners include the Vancouver Coastal Authority, Regional Health Authority B (New Brunswick) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario