Event Overview:

 

LungNSPEI will host the Nova Scotia Tobacco & Vape Reduction Symposium on Thursday October 19th at the Delta Hotels by Marriott, Dartmouth. Up to seventy-five key stakeholders will gather to hear from keynote speakers and work together to advance tobacco and vape product control and cessation services.

 

Attendees will learn from best practices and will address equitable access to cessation support across the province. The day will consist of morning presentations and afternoon breakout sessions, focused on producing actionable recommendations to reduce tobacco and vaping rates in Nova Scotia.

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The Need:

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Nova Scotia continues to see smoking and vaping rates well above Canadian averages with a smoking prevalence of 13.7% compared to 10.3% nationally. Nova Scotia has the second highest smoking rate of all Canadian provinces.

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Additionally, Nova Scotians consumption of cigarettes has significantly increased with an estimated 18.9 cigarettes per day compared to 10.9 cigarettes per day in 2019. 6.4% of Nova Scotians ages 15+ have used a vape within the past 30-days compared to the Canadian average of 4.7% in 2019.

 

Nova Scotia has been a leader in tobacco control and protecting youth and young adults from the harms of vaping. Yet our progress has slowed. Tobacco and vape control have not received the focus needed to protect Nova Scotian’s health despite the significant burden that tobacco and vape use place on our healthcare system. There continues to be significant work to be done to strengthen tobacco / vape product control and to best support Nova Scotians with their quit journey. Together we can create a future to help prevent and reduce tobacco and vape product consumption in Nova Scotia.

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Objective:

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Our objective is to bring a variety of key stakeholders together representative of government and external to government who have a lead role in supporting actions to strengthen tobacco / vape policy and to support equitable access to cessation support within the province.
 

The symposium will aim to:
-Identify assets and gaps within stakeholder organizations that will support actions to endorse government to strengthen tobacco / vape product control.
-Increase awareness of current gaps in tobacco / vape product control and access to cessation services.
-Increase awareness of the roles and responsibilities of vape and tobacco control and cessation services stakeholders.
-Rally support and identify actionable items to help develop a future Tobacco & Vape Reduction Strategy in Nova Scotia.
-Foster an environment of collaboration and partnership among stakeholders.