Glen Vienneau
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jun 26/00) - Smoking is a major factor in a quarter of all deaths in the NWT, a grim fact that has health officials worried about the number of young smokers.

Major causes of death in NWT 25% - Cancers 23% - Circulatory 21% - Injury and Poisoning 18% - Others & Unknown 9% - Respiratory 1% - Perinatal 1% - Congenital Heart Attacks and strokes were the two major components of cardiovascular diseases, consisting of 44% and 17% of all circulatory deaths. Cancer by type 37% - Digestive (eg. pancreas, colon and rectum, esophagus and stomach) 26% - Lung 17% - Others 9% - Unspecified Malignancy 6% - Breast 5% - Prostate Number of children (10-14) who smoke in NWT and Nunavut: 13% - 1982 9% - 1987 7% - 1993 12% -1999 Source: Statistics Canada and NWT Bureau of Statistics

"They're getting younger now. They're starting to smoke in the elementary schools," said Moire Jones, Fort Smith community health co-ordinator.

According to the 1999 Health Status Report released recently by the Department of Health and Social Services, smoking is linked to deaths by cancer, circulatory disease, respiratory problems and infant death.

Together, these four diseases account for 58 per cent of all deaths in the NWT.

While smoking doesn't cause all deaths from these four diseases, many are related to smoking, making the deadly habit account for about 25 per cent of all deaths.

A great concern is the impact smoking will have when kids who started the habit at an early age reach adulthood and older.

While "most of the kids know that smoking is fatal," said Jones, many are not aware of the effects of smoking until later in their lives, she explained.

Furthermore, she has seen kids with other respiratory problems who also smoke.

"We have an increase with kids with asthma and things like that, (and) quite a few of these kids actually smoke," said Jones.

"They take these inhalers and they still continue to smoke, so it makes their asthma so much worse." she added.

"Because their lungs are damaged with asthma they're putting all these chemicals and junk in on top of that. It makes it a double-whammy."

Adult role crucial

She said adults have to take a lead role in convincing youths to not smoke.

"Parents have to take some responsibility," said Jones, adding children of smokers have more access to cigarettes than children from non-smoking parents.

Other adults, like school teachers, also have to realize how their smoking can influence children.

"Because the teachers stand outside smoking while people in there (the school) are telling the kids how bad it is for them, so how credible is it?" said Jones.

Conversely, smoking not only affects the children, but, their families, according to Jennifer Allen, Hay River public health nurse.

"I can personally say that it causes devastating effects," she said.

"It takes a lot of money and resources to actually treat somebody who has health effects from tobacco smoking.

"They can be on oxygen (tanks) and still be smoking, they could be dying from emphysema which is directly related," she added.

Although smoking is not legal for children, they are the ones making the choice, she said. Allen suggested putting an emphasis on teaching children about the harmful effects of smoking at an early age, before they are influenced by peer pressure.