11,000 Ontarians to Receive Free Medication and Support to Quit Smoking this New Year

For Immediate Release - January 12, 2009 - (Toronto) – This New Year is a great time to quit smoking. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is partnering with the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion to help people break their addiction to cigarettes in 2009. CAMH today announced the next phase in its highly successful STOP (Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients) Study, which will provide nicotine replacement patches free of charge to 11,000 Ontarians who qualify, and will support them in their efforts to break free.

Smokers who would like to participate can register via telephone to receive counselling and a five-week supply of NRT. The effectiveness of the treatment will be monitored via telephone.

“Smoking is deadly – it accounts for at least 500,000 hospital days a year in Ontario,” said Dr. Peter Selby, Clinical Director of Addiction Programs at CAMH and Principal Investigator of the STOP Study. “Since the STOP Study began in 2006, we have been able to offer support and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to 49,000 Ontarians, thanks to funding from the Ministry of Health Promotion. We are pleased to be able to give people another chance to end their dependence on tobacco, and begin to live healthier this New Year."

Smokers are up to four times more likely to quit smoking if they have effective access to counselling and NRT, yet many people do not use this resource, partially due to cost – the STOP Study eliminates this barrier with the hope of decreasing the 13,000 deaths that occur in Ontario each year from the effects of tobacco products.

“Participating in the STOP Study can help smokers as Ontario’s ban on smoking in motor vehicles with passengers under 16 years old comes into effect on January 21,” said the Honourable Margarett Best, Minister of Health Promotion. “Smoking continues to be the number one leading cause of preventable disease and death in Ontario, and the McGuinty Government is determined to help smokers quit. The STOP Study is just one of the many initiatives we are supporting to help Ontarians go smoke free – and lead healthy, active lives.”

Ten per cent of participants (24,000 people) who received NRT in the previous Ministry-sponsored distributions were still smoke-free after a year; that’s about three times higher than the quit rate for the general smoking population. To date, the STOP study has made NRT available through the mail, pharmacies, public health units, hospitals, community health centres and aboriginal health access centres.

People who would like to participate in the STOP Study can do so by calling 1 866 484-9022 or by visiting www.stopstudy.ca

Media Contacts:
Michael Torres, Media Relations, CAMH ; (416) 595-6015

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The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues.

CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre.