Project to encourage youth to butt out

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Three First Nations communities will be receiving funding for programs aimed at encouraging youth not to smoke, thanks to an anti-smoking project being funded by two tobacco companies.

The First Nations youth anti-smoking project has received $225,000 from Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco Ltd. Through the project, scheduled to begin in 2001, three First Nations communities will each receive $75,000 to fund anti-smoking exercises, activities and projects on reserve.

Harvey McCue is a First Nations consultant in Ottawa who spearheaded the anti-smoking initiative and is acting as project co-ordinator.

"I've been concerned about First Nations health issues for some time, and I know from personal experience and anecdotal evidence that youth smoking in our communities is a serious issue. And it had occurred to me that this might be a project or an area that the tobacco companies might be interested in putting some money," McCue said.

When he approached the tobacco companies, McCue said, "there was a sympathetic response, a recognition that it is a serious issue in First Nations communities, and a recognition that the money that is available through Health Canada in First Nations communities to address this problem is inadequate."

According to McCue, a national First Nations health survey completed in 1999 showed that two-thirds of First Nations youth age 11 to 24 living on reserve use tobacco products. A survey of First Nations youth done in 1996 through Health Canada's First Nation and Inuit Health Programs Directorate found the rate of smoking among First Nations youth is twice that of non-Aboriginal youth.

All applications from First Nations communities received will be reviewed by a board of First Nations health and education professionals from across the country. McCue said two of the key areas the selection board will be looking for in the applications are innovation and integration.

"We're looking for innovative activities, things that people perhaps have been wanting to try in the past but haven't been able to because they lack funding. We'd like to see proposals that integrate as many of the constituents of a First Nations community as possible in the exercises. So we'd like to see proposals, for example, that indicate how seniors and parents and professionals, as well as the youth in the communities, are going to be part of the project."

McCue said the funding is being divided between only three communities to ensure the participating communities have enough money to be successful in their efforts.

"In my experience, a lot of First Nations communities lack financial resources to adequately mount programs to deal with social issues and concerns. And because youth smoking is such a serious issue in our communities, I wanted to ensure that the successful communities would have sufficient resources to mount innovative initiatives against youth smoking," McCue said.

"As far as I know, it's the first time that any private sector initiative on First Nations youth anti-smoking has been attempted," McCue said.

McCue said the tobacco companies involved are looking at the anti-smoking initiative as a pilot project.

"There's every expectation that the communities selected will be able to demonstrate clearly that additional funding does contribute to a reduction in youth usage of tobacco products. And hopefully with that evidence, additional applications can be made to the federal government, for example, or maybe even the private sector, including the tobacco companies too, to look at youth anti-smoking as an area that does require additional and increased funding," he said.

The response to the project has been fairly good so far, McCue said, with more than 100 requests for application forms being received since the project was announced in September.

Bands wanting to be considered for the funding can contact Association House by phone at 1-613-567-3080 or by fax at 1-613-567-3080. Requests can also be maild to the First Nations youth anti-smoking project, Association House, Suite 1110, 130 Albert Street, Ottawa, K1P 5G4. The deadline for application submission is Nov. 17.