The Government of NunavutSA国际影视传媒檚 Tobacco and Cannabis Program (TCP) has been looking to rebrand its logo and reach a younger audience to raise awareness for harm reduction and prevention.
Both these goals were accomplished on Nov. 13 at the Makkuttukkuvik Youth Centre as the TCP team gathered some young Iqalummiut at the youth centre for a pizza party and to share information, something that hadn't happened with the youth camp since the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Now at least we have cannabis program coordinator [Emmanuel Ogundimu] and our program analyst [Dorine Dounla]... we will have to chance to reach out to other populations," said Fellen Atienza, manager of the TCP for the past five years.
Atienza says Ogundimu was key to collaborating with the City of Iqaluit for this and other events in support of National Addictions Awareness Week.
SA国际影视传媒淗aving come to a very vibrant team, we just felt we needed different ideas to get... the information out there, because information is key. If you are trying to create awareness or outreach, you have to give such information to the youth, because the youth have a big role to play,SA国际影视传媒� said Ogundimu.
The TCP team reached out to the youth centre coordinator in Iqaluit. It was determined in team meetings that the best way to reach young Iqalummiut was to share the information informally.
SA国际影视传媒淲e needed to have a fun activity where you can still pass down the message about the dangers... of using cannabis, tobacco and vape to make informed decisions when using [these products] about some of the health risks associated with them,SA国际影视传媒� said Ogundimu.
At the event, the TCP team had the 22 teens who showed up in a relaxed and informal setting where they played games, held a raffle, and partied with pizza and prizes. Most significantly, the TCP team had a trivia wheel that asked the teens questions about the uses of cannabis and tobacco, where the negative health effects of these products were conveyed in a fun environment.
There was emphasis placed on the resources available to help with making healthier choices. For teens, activity substitution is used as a method to distract the mind and help manage cravings, as products like Nicorette cannot be legally sold to minors.
SA国际影视传媒淭here was also education about the implementation of harm reduction [measures], like medication... you can also make informed decisions in the long run about things like second-hand smoking. So someone is smoking close to you, but it is also going to have the same effects like if you were smoking.SA国际影视传媒�
Also communicated was the importance of SA国际影视传媒渉olding yourself accountableSA国际影视传媒� in respecting what are legally mandated smoke-free areas, such as indoors, playgrounds and social areas. SA国际影视传媒淚 say accountable, because the person next to you might not be a smoker,SA国际影视传媒� said Ogundimu.
SA国际影视传媒淚t was a good way as well to inform them that we have the new Tobacco Smoking Act,SA国际影视传媒� said Atienza. SA国际影视传媒淣ot a lot of people are aware because it was just enforced last year. So part of this campaign, as well, is to give information about the new law [that says] there are certain areas where youSA国际影视传媒檙e not supposed to smoke and there are the buffer zones.SA国际影视传媒�
The new legislation dictates that there is no smoking of any kind within nine metres of the entrance or exit of a building, no smoking of tobacco with a minor in the car and no smoking at all of cannabis while operating a vehicle of any kind (including ATVs and snowmobiles).
SA国际影视传媒淎lso, in collaboration with Nunavut Housing Corporation, we have included public housing and social housing, so those two areas are now smoke-free.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淭he turnout was impressive,SA国际影视传媒� said Ogundimu, SA国际影视传媒渆ven though the word got out in such a short time. We also got a lot of responses from social media. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e already thinking of having something very big, probably in the first quarter of next year, some sort of very large program for youth based on creating something more informal.
SA国际影视传媒淭he youth came out, spoke their minds, had interactions that we never felt we were going to get when we started the conversation about the program.SA国际影视传媒�
Dounla explained that this event was part of a greater mass media campaign aimed at Nunavummiut youth. The pizza party was also used to gather feedback about the programSA国际影视传媒檚 new logo.
SA国际影视传媒淪o that evening was really fun, but also very informative and engaging because we saw a lot of youth that came and expressed their voice in terms of how they would like to see the Tobacco and Cannabis Program in terms of promotion, prevention, protection... also I was feeling like I was a young kid.SA国际影视传媒�
