Smoking statistics in Nunavut and the NWT

63.9 per cent total Nunavut population smokes

44.2 per cent total NWT population smokes

77.9 per cent Nunavut persons between ages 15-24 smoke

64.3 per cent NWT persons between ages 15-24 smoke

32.4 per cent Canadian persons between ages 15-24 smoke

66.5 per cent Nunavut and NWT aboriginal persons smoke

32.1 per cent Nunavut and NWT non-aboriginal persons smoke

70.5 per cent aboriginal persons in Nunavut smoke

62.6 per cent aboriginal persons in NWT smoke

Source: 1996 NWT Alcohol and Drug Survey (note: 1999 stats due out in Jan. 2000)

Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 15/99) - It's working.

Bit by bit, cigarette by cigarette, Nunavummiut are changing the way they think about smoking.

And while the number of Inuit who continue to smoke remains high, the highest in Canada in fact, the growing awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco use has, at the very least, changed the way cigarettes are used.

"Today when I visit homes, there is no ashtray on the table and you don't see people smoking in their living rooms. People have found another smoking area like the porch, the furnace room, under the fan in the kitchen," said Simon Iyyiraq. A long-time community health representative in Iglulik, Iyyiraq has been working hard for a decade -- making home visits, distributing pamphlets and doing radio shows -- to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use.

Part of that awareness has also come from Aniqsaattiarniq -- Breathing Easy, a tobacco-reduction project that got off the ground in 1994 at the hands of the Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association.

Iyyiraq sits as the Qikiqtaaluk representative on the steering committee of that project along with representatives who come from five other Inuit regions in Canada.

Catherine Carry, the co-ordinator of the project, said that drawing upon the knowledge and experience of Inuit across the country was the only way to ensure that the program Pauktuutit created would be effective, culturally- appropriate and sensitive to the needs of the people it was designed to serve.

"It's a far cry from any package that you'd get from the south," said Carry, explaining that along with appearing in several different dialects and languages, the resource kits featured posters, pamphlets and videos.

"They were developed by Inuit for Inuit," she said.

The kits include facts about tobacco, tips for quitting smoking, community action guidelines and perhaps most importantly, they present a collection of stories written by Inuit about their experiences with quitting smoking.

Community health representatives in Inuit communities across the country were sent the packages in 1997 and the feedback was positive. But when Health Canada funding ran dry, Aniqsaattiarniq hit the rocks.

However, new federal money was recently found. Carry said the project is back on and a positive new step is about to be taken. Following an evaluation earlier this year that clearly showed people needed a follow-up on how to properly use the kits, a week-long training session for participants from Nunavut, Nunavik, Labrador and the Western Arctic has been scheduled for Nov. 14 in Inuvik.

Pauktuutit's goal?

"We're hoping these people will have enough confidence and knowledge after the workshop to go out and do support work in the communities for people who want to quit smoking," said Carry, adding that they'd also secured enough money to do six months of phone follow-up after the workshop.

Through a series of role-playing activities and tobacco addiction awareness sessions, participants will learn the difficult task of encouraging people not to smoke without alienating them or their family members.

Joan Killulark said she was looking forward to learning how to better use the kits so she could continue to do her work which includes running a smoking cessation support group in Baker Lake.

"The number of problems and illnesses that come into the health centre that are related to smoking and its effects are so high. That's why I was so interested in this," said Killulark, on the steering committee for the last three years.

Julia Ogina, also a project advocate and a regional community health representative in the Kitikmeot region, wants to use what she learns to make her anti-smoking work even more relevant to the residents of Cambridge Bay.

"I want to collect stories from the people in Cambridge Bay and publish them. That will make them more unique to the community and it will give them support," said Ogina.

Health Minister Ed Picco has thrown his support into the ring by having a department employee attend the workshop. He added that he wanted to go after funding in the next budget to create a tailor-made anti-smoking program for Nunavummiut.

"The big thing for us as a government is to look at some kind of strategic plan. We have such a young population and if you don't start smoking, you don't have to focus on getting people to quit," said Picco.

"I think the focus should be in schools."