Saskatchewan is home to an alarming record. For the past nine years, the smoking rate among youth aged 15-19 has been the highest in the country at 20 per cent, compared to the national average at 12 per cent.
“I see so many kids smoking, and they start a very young age as well,” said Kylie Briggins, a grade 11 student at Thom Collegiate in Regina. Briggins started smoking three years ago. “Me and my friend were walking one day and we had exams and she had a smoke from her dad and we decided to just share it. And I got addicted. My first smoke.”
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Youth smoking is a problem that the province says needs to be tackled.
“There is a certain percentage in Saskatchewan, slightly under one in five people who do, especially in young adulthood, start and continue to smoke,” said Dr. Saqib Shahab, Chief Medical Officer of Saskatchewan. But, he added, “More and more people are giving up smoking than ever before.”
The province says smoking among the general population has decreased over the past few years, and that includes youth smokers. But youth smoking has declined at a slower rate compared to the rest.
For many young smokers, quitting is an ongoing problem.
“It’s really hard. Some of the stuff they give you to quit, it’s real expensive, $70 a week. So it’s out of my reach,” Briggins said.
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