News and press releases

Montreal, September 14, 2020 – With fall just around the corner, Smoke-Free Family is back with a brand new communications campaign that urges Quebec parents to protect their kids against the dangers of second-hand smoke by always ensuring the home and car are smoke-free zones and by smoking far away from them outside. The www.smokefreefamily.ca website contains information and practical tools to help them take action.

Take care of those little lungs

The campaign slogan, “To keep those little pink lungs healthy”, reminds us that children are born with pink lungs and that the tar in cigarette smoke that blackens smokers’ lungs also accumulates in the lungs of children exposed to second-hand smoke. Exposure to this highly toxic smoke also makes children of smokers more likely to develop respiratory problems. Fortunately, parents can protect their kids’ little lungs by never smoking around them.

Children at higher risk

Second-hand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and is particularly harmful to the respiratory health of children and babies because their lungs are still developing and they breathe more quickly, which means they inhale greater quantities of toxic substances. “Let’s not forget that a baby under 1 breathes three times faster than an adult and that toddlers breathe twice as fast as their parents. Regular exposure to second-hand smoke can also cause or exacerbate several respiratory problems in children, such as coughs, colds, bronchitis, pneumonia and asthma” said Dominique Massie, Executive Director of the Quebec Lung Association.

Asthma and smoke: a dreaded duo

In children, the nicotine contained in cigarette smoke can lead to reduced lung capacity and a predisposition to developing asthma, among other problems. In Canada, 15% of all children suffer from the disease, and this number continues to rise. Children of smokers are 2 to 4 times more likely to have asthma. Tobacco smoke—including second-hand smoke—is also a powerful trigger for asthma attacks, which is why it’s important that we continue to raise awareness about the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.

An opportunity to quit

According to a Léger survey (2019)¹, Smoke-Free Family motivates 46% of parents who smoke to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked, and 27% of them to quit. To support parents and future parents who want to butt out, the www.smokefreefamily.ca website offers free smoking cessation resources, including the iQuitnow helpline (1-866-527-7383).

About Smoke-Free Family

Smoke-Free Family is an initiative of Capsana presented in collaboration with a network of public and private organizations, including Quebec’s Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, the provincial Directions régionales de santé publique, and the Jean Coutu Group. For more information, visit www.smokefreefamily.ca.

About Capsana

Capsana is a social enterprise owned by the ÉPIC Foundation, which is associated with the Montreal Heart Institute, and by the Fondation PSI. Its mission is to help individuals take an active role in their health. For more information, visit capsana.ca.

^{1. Léger Marketing (2019). Notoriété et perception de la campagne publicitaire Famille sans fumée – Rapport d’analyse d’un sondage post-campagne.}