Yellowknife (Jan 21/05) - A smoking action group is calling on the territorial government to beef up tobacco legislation.

Arlene Yaceyko at Tobacco Action Yellowknife made the comments this week after releasing a report card rating NWT efforts to reduce smoking. This is national Non-Smoking Week.

She said the Canadian Cancer Society has written to Health Minister Michael Miltenberger, calling for legislation that would ban all smoking in public places not covered by workplace smoking rules, ban retail displays and forbid pharmacies from selling tobacco products. He has yet to reply.

"We have to protect our youth and cut health care costs that are very high," Yaceyko noted.

"After the smoking-related survey was done in 2003, there was a lot of positive public response. People did want legislation and it's been two years and we still haven't heard anything."

The NWT received mixed marks on the report card, prepared by a national coalition of anti-smoking groups.

The territories received an A+ for having the highest tax on a carton of 200 cigarettes and a pass for legislating 100 per cent smoke-free workplaces.

It failed for not instituting a territories-wide ban on smoking in all public places, retail displays and sales of tobacco in pharmacies.

"Until we do have tobacco legislation in the North, we will have failing marks there," she said of the report card.

NWT chief medical health officer Dr. Andre Corriveau said there of plenty of good things happening around the territories when it comes to reducing smoking.

"I think we've done an amazing amount of progress, but then there is more to be done," Corriveau said.

But he added, the anti-smoking impact hasn't spread much beyond this city.

"There has only been a decrease in smoking in Yellowknife," he said.

The territories have twice the national smoking average.

While in previous years an NWT Quit to Win contest was offered by the Canadian Public Health Association to those trying to stop smoking, Corriveau said this year it was decided to forego the event.

"The participation rate was not very high in our smaller communities," Corriveau said.

"But based on outcomes, it may be reintroduced another time."

He also said that they are now able to identify or quantify what groups of people should be targeted for their anti-smoking message.

"Getting the message in high school is too late," he noted.

The Don't be a Butthead campaign aimed at students across the territories and implemented by the Department of Health and Social Services, continues to be an effective way to get the message across, he noted.

"Last season, we set a target of 500 kids, but by September we had many more.

"We've extended our objective to 1,000," he said of the campaign which asks students to pledge they will not begin smoking.

As well, special stop smoking "Quit Kits" are available at pharmacies and supermarkets throughout Yellowknife.