Aboriginal Tobacco Strategy
Aboriginal people are disproportionately represented in the smoking population. They comprise eight per cent of the smoking population, but only three per cent of the general population. More than half of the Aboriginal teenagers (54 per cent) misuse tobacco, increasing to 65 per cent aged 20 - 24 years. In response, the Ministry of Health funded the development of an Aboriginal Tobacco Strategy.
Honouring Our Health, the first Aboriginal Tobacco Strategy in Canada, was released in January 2001. The objective of the strategy is to promote the health and well-being of Aboriginal people and their traditions by stopping tobacco misuse. It is an example of a holistic, community developed, community led project that focuses on impacting change in the whole community rather than just on the single smoker. Regional Aboriginal representatives seek to mobilize their communities in support of developing an environment that will encourage and reinforce tobacco reduction activities. Using traditional customers, they focus on positive, upbeat messaging that quitting or reducing tobacco misuse can be fun.
The strategy was evaluated in 2003. Findings indicated overwhelming community support for this initiative. Aboriginal service providers ranked the training as the best they have ever received on any health issue. A community report based on the evaluation findings was released in March 2004.
The video “One Breath at a Time” based on BC’s strategy was nominated for “Best Public Service Documentary” at the American Indian Film Festival.
Honour Your Health Challenge
The "Honour Your Health Challenge" is a component of BC’s Aboriginal Tobacco Strategy. This innovative six-week program challenges Aboriginal people to quit or reduce tobacco misuse in the car or at home. Aboriginal people are trained to provide support in culturally appropriate activities related to tobacco misuse.
In 2003, the evaluation assessed program implementation and tested the effectives of the Honour Your Health Challenge model in engaging participants, building community capacity and developing supportive networks and partnerships. Five target groups were surveyed representing 74 per cent of the total available participants. Responses from the surveys showed that participants demonstrated a dramatic increase in knowledge, awareness and access to resources. Participants gave a high rating to the training, and developed new confidence and leadership skills. In addition, community capacity was shown to have increased.
For more resources developed specifically
for the Aboriginal community, check out the Aboriginal
Tobacco Resource List.