FORT FRANCES—Fort Frances High School students celebrated a video launch last Wednesday with other students from across Northwestern Ontario who are committed to encouraging youth to go smoke-free.
“I was really impressed by the video and everything I’ve seen tonight,” said FFHS principal Gord McCabe, who was on hand for the launch at La Verendrye Hospital.
The local Youth Action Alliance is made up of two peer leaders—Tiffany Whalen and Shanna Ewald—and a number of volunteers who plan events to expose the dangers of smoking.
There is a network of YAA groups in 12 communities across Northwestern Ontario—Manitouwadge, Marathon, Geraldton, Thunder Bay, Ignace, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake, Kenora, Rainy River, Atikokan, and Fort Frances.
Last Wednesday, students from all 12 groups were liked via videoconference to watch the new video and celebrate their accomplishment.
The video, entitled “UN Mask the Tobacco Industry,” is meant to be a tool to help YAA groups in the region recruit more members.
It featured interviews with YAA members talking about what they enjoy about the group and some of the benefits they get from it, including leadership and interpersonal skills, public speaking skills, and improved confidence.
Students in the video also noted they had fun while making a difference in their communities.
One peer leader from Marathon admitted she used to smoke. When she quit, she decided she wanted to help other youths quit, too.
The video included footage of a trip the peer leaders took to Old Fort William in Thunder Bay for team-building and leadership training last fall.
“I’d like to congratulate all the Youth Action Alliances across the region for this video,” said Dr. Nancy Cameron, medical officer of health for the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
“It will be an important element of motivating the peer leaders of tomorrow,” agreed a peer leader from Red Lake.
Dr. Cameron noted the YAAs have been having a positive effect on their fellow students.
“Your work in programming over the last year is truly commendable,” she said. “You should be very proud of your accomplishments. We are winning this war, slow but steady.”
Dr. Cameron also encouraged other youths to join their local YAAs as volunteers and help stop the spread of smoking.
Dr. Pete Sarsfield, medical officer of health for the Northwestern Health Unit, attended the launch in Kenora and congratulated the youths on their success.
“We’ll be able to use it in future to ensure second- and third-generation peer leaders continue with your energy and enthusiasm,” Simon Hoad, Tobacco Control Area Network co-ordinator for the Northwest region, said of the video.
McCabe also was impressed with the video and stressed the importance of the work of the teens.
“Listening to some old guy like me is not going to stop young people from smoking,” he said. “I’ve never been prouder to be in education than I am tonight.”
Fort High’s YAA officially came into being last fall when they designated their first peer leaders.
“The main focus for them is to start getting volunteers,” said Sue Danku of the Northwestern Health Unit, who is acting as the Local Adult Support System (LASS) for the local YAA.
Their goal as a group is to expose how the tobacco industry targets teens in their advertising so they won’t fall prey to their methods.
“The students go after the tobacco industry because they go after them,” Danku noted.
Whalen said the group’s next project will be to construct a cross-section of a cigarette and point out the many chemicals and dangerous side-effects of smoking.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
