2018
Eat more plants, less meat
February 16, 2018
What is a healthy diet? New Year’s diet conversations still abound around water coolers Canada-wide as people debate the various merits and shortcomings of sugar, gluten, meat, dairy, tofu and other edibles. Scientific articles, shiny celebrities and representatives of various groups who produce, transform and sell food all compete for our attention as we try to figure out what to eat. How is anyone supposed to know who to listen to? Canadians’ traditional solution to this conundrum has been to turn to our Food Guide -- that familiar rainbow of foods that many of us learned about in elementary school.The world is zeroing in on the end of polio — by stopping people at bus stops, airports and train stations
February 16, 2018
Though it has been around for untold centuries, polio made its recorded debut in Europe during the early1800s, with the first known Canadian case appearing in Hamilton in 1910, according to the Canadian Public Health Association. When it was at its peak between 1949 and 1954 about 11,000 Canadians would be left with polio-caused paralysis. The last major outbreak in this country occurred in 1959, when some 2,000 people were paralyzed. “In Canada, our last case was about 1977,” says Dr. Shelley Deeks, the chief of communicable diseases at Public Health Ontario.Environnement: des scientifiques écrivent à Trudeau
February 12, 2018
L’Association canadienne de santé publique, l’un des signataires de la lettre, a souligné qu’on ne «pouvait plus ignorer les coûts de santé publique, environnementaux et économiques découlant de l’exposition à des polluants nocifs.» «Le gouvernement fédéral s’est clairement engagé à s’attaquer à la pollution et à protéger les collectivités vulnérables, et la présentation d’un projet de loi visant à modifier la LCPE avant le printemps prochain concrétisera son engagement», a déclaré dans un communiqué Ian Culbert, de l’Association canadienne de santé publique.La ministre Petitpas Taylor veut restreindre la publicité des vapoteuses
February 12, 2018
La Coalition québécoise pour le contrôle du tabac, l'Association canadienne de santé publique et Médecins pour un Canada sans fumée veulent interdire dans la sphère publique la publicité des vapoteuses qui pourrait « créer une nouvelle génération de fumeurs ». « Dans les faits, on n'a pas mis les mesures nécessaires pour contrôler le marketing de ces produits-là, a souligné Mme Doucas. On va permettre des publicités à la télé, à la radio, sur des abribus - tous azimuts - pour des cigarettes électroniques qui contiennent de la nicotine. » C'est cet ingrédient qui crée une dépendance. Selon ces organismes, des publicités vantant les cigarettes électroniques pourraient inciter les non-fumeurs, particulièrement les jeunes, à commencer à fumer. Ils craignent qu'une fois accros à la nicotine, ces nouveaux fumeurs se tournent vers la cigarette traditionnelle.More than 500 scientists demand improved pollution laws in Canada
February 12, 2018
The letter is signed by more than 540 scientists and doctors from across Canada, telling Trudeau this is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to curb pollution, save lives, protect the environment, boost the economy and improve the quality of life for all Canadians."Anti-tobacco groups call for MPs to clamp down on vaping advertising rules
February 12, 2018
Ian Culbert, executive director of the Canadian Public Health Association, also at Monday’s news conference, said that if Bill S-5 received royal assent today, Canada would become “one of most permissive jurisdictions in the world with regard to advertising vaping devices.” “We do want nicotine containing vaping devices to be available to smokers. They are, or can be, an important part of a harm reduction strategy. But we don’t want to create another generation of young people addicted to nicotine by allowing no controls on the location of ads and few meaningful controls on content,” he said.Old rules but new pollutants: scientists ask for changes in Canada's pollution laws
February 12, 2018
Diamond was speaking on behalf of a group of 540 scientists and doctors from across the country who want the federal government to update CEPA. The letter is in response to a recent review of the Act conducted by the House of Commons standing committee on environment and sustainable development that made 87 recommendations to strengthen CEPA.Feds face limits in fighting meth crisis
February 11, 2018
he Liberal government says it’ll do what it can to help curb Winnipeg’s growing meth problem, but a leading expert says Ottawa can only play a limited role. “There isn’t really a lot the federal government can do. (It doesn’t) have a lot of levers,” said Ian Culbert, executive director of the Canadian Public Health Association.Food Guide revamp encouraging plant-based, low-meat diet is good for people and the planet
February 11, 2018
As representatives of organizations dedicated to human health, we believe that Health Canada's recommendation that we eat more plants and less meat positions Canada as a leader in both the health of people and of the planet. Strong support for these principles was one of the main recommendations of the jointly-produced Lancet Countdown-Canadian Public Health Association policy brief. Plant-rich, low-meat diets have been shown to have modest benefits in terms of all-cause mortality, to decrease our risk of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease, and to improve glycemic control in people with diabetes. Low-meat diets also reduce greenhouse gases, land use and water consumption by a median of 20-30 per cent across studies, which is critical to maintaining planetary health and sustaining our ability to feed ourselves as we move through the 21st century.Front-of-package symbols proposed for foods high in sodium, sugar, saturated fat
February 9, 2018
Petitpas Taylor was accompanied at the news conference by representatives of health advocacy groups such as Diabetes Canada, Dieticians of Canada and the Canadian Public Health Association, as well as the Retail Council of Canada. They lauded the proposed warning labels. "We've all heard the troubling news that, in Canada, diet-related factors are now the leading risk factor of death," said Yves Savoie, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.