SMOKING. From January 19 to 25, the Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health (CQTS) is coordinating the awareness campaign for the 48e edition of the Week for a Tobacco-Free Quebec. The CQTS is joining forces with its partners and the Ministry of Health and Social Services to raise awareness among Quebecers of the harms of smoking.
Supported by the signature of the campaign “tobacco also affects the lives of your loved ones”, the CQST seeks to make people understand that smoking can upset a family balance in a fraction of a second. An advertisement was designed for the occasion and reminds us that, beyond statistics, tobacco causes real people to suffer.
Concretely, according to the CQTS, 13,000 people lose their lives each year as a result of illnesses associated with tobacco in Quebec. Despite progress in the fight against smoking in recent years, tobacco remains a public health problem: 12.5% of Quebecers smoke.
The interim general director of the CQTS, Dominique Claveau, indicates that she receives “heartbreaking testimonies from people who are seriously ill or who suffer because of smoking” every week.
“This year’s ad was an opportunity to highlight the devastating impacts of this industry. We are convinced that the perspective of loved ones will resonate with people who smoke to encourage them to stop smoking,” she comments in a press release.
-In 2025, the CQTS maintains that many people continue to suffer from diseases associated with smoking. These diseases can strike suddenly and devastate everything in their path: smoking doubles the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, or even death.
Quitting smoking means giving yourself and your loved ones a peaceful life. This is why the CQTS invites people who wish to quit smoking to use the J’ARRÊTE services.
This is confidential, free help that has proven effective for Quebecers who want to stop smoking or vaping. Smoking cessation professionals are available to offer online help (jarrete.qc.ca / iquitnow.qc.ca), help by telephone (1 866 JARRETE (1 866 527-7383) ), or in-person help at smoking cessation centers in Quebec.
Since 1976, the CQTS has come a long way and will continue to pave the way by mobilizing and bringing together stakeholders from various sectors in order to stop the leading cause of preventable mortality in Quebec, smoking. Building on its historic victory against Canadian tobacco companies in the CQTS-Blais class action for victims of tobacco in Quebec, the CQTS is also committed to preventing the consumption of cannabis and vaping products among young people. (WH)
