Dalton & Dave disrespect their elders

NEWS RELEASE

MYCHOICE.CA

************************* Group calls for review of treatment of smokers in long-term care facilities

(Tuesday April 10) - Amid reports of unfair and even dangerous treatment of smokers in Ontario's long-term care facilities, mychoice.ca today called for a review of the policies and practices imposed in many of these homes since the Smoke Free Ontario Act came into force almost a year ago.

"We hear alarming stories every week from residents, family members and home operators and workers about accidents as residents are forced outside and even off the property to smoke," said Nancy Daigneault, president of mychoice.ca, which now has more than 42,000 members.

"We hear of fire risks, unpleasant forced cessation programmes, of depression and falls in cold icy winter conditions," Ms. Daigneault said.

"We are convinced that what is now happening out of the public eye is not what most Ontarians signed on for when they were asked to support the Liberal government's Smoke Free Ontario Act," said Ms. Daigneault.

Before it passed its new law in June 2005 and its regulations in early 2006, the government heard from those who operate and work in homes, from residents, from fire marshals and others.

All were calling for the homes to be allowed to maintain facilities where residents could smoke safely and under supervision.

"But it chose to listen only to those groups whose goal is to see smoking banned everywhere," said Ms. Daigneault. "It promised it would exempt these homes from a total ban on smoking rooms under the new law, but then designed regulations that are so unworkable, most homes have been unable to comply and have had to close their smoking rooms."

There has already been at least one case of a resident dying after being forced and left outside in the cold to smoke, and several close calls involving seniors falling and being injured after being forced outside.

Ms. Daigneault called for a review of the impact of the new law and regulations on residents, noting that the then Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health last fall went on record saying the regulations would have to be reviewed if they proved to be too onerous.

As a first step, the government should release a list of all the incident reports filed with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care involving accidents, fire risks and other problems in the past 12 months.

"We know from our members of many cases that should be on the list, and believe these are only the tip of the iceberg," said Ms. Daigneault.

"We have filed a Freedom of Information request for the ministry’s full list to see if reports are being filed and to find out the extent of the problems, but we are concerned there will be delays because we still have other FOI requests outstanding for other information nearly 30 months after we filed them," Ms. Daigneault said. "The government should not be allowed to stall for years on this request."

Mary Gordon, who runs a group home in the GTA, says the smoking ban has caused depression and other hardships for the people with disabilities who live at her facility.

The majority smoke and even those who do not, have signed petitions calling for a smoking room to be re-opened, says Mrs. Gordon.

"It is not fair - my home is adjacent to the group home and I can smoke there, but my residents can't have a smoking room in their residence right next door," says Mrs. Gordon, who has constructed a smoking shelter outside, but notes that because the law says it cannot have more than two walls and a roof, it does not protect the residents from the elements.

Debbie Pratt's family specifically chose a palliative care facility that allowed smoking for her mother.

Efforts were made to grandfather the existing smoking facilities when the new law came into force, but to no avail.

Now her mother and others who call the residence home are forced outside to smoke.

"This is her home in her sunset years and this law is making life miserable for her," says Mrs. Pratt. "My mother's health has deteriorated and her welfare has been compromised and I strongly believe it is largely due to her being forced outside in these conditions. Congratulations to the masterminds of the smoking ban law."

Ms. Daigneault said mychoice.ca members are also concerned that residents of long-term care facilities are being preyed on as vulnerable targets to set precedents to help some anti-smoking activists achieve their ultimate goal of banning smoking in all homes.

"We now have campaigns underway to ban smoking in apartment buildings and condos and it will not be long before proponents start arguing that if people in long term care facilities can be banned from smoking in their homes, then apartment and condo dwellers should also be banned," Ms. Daigneault said.

"If we are going to allow governments and other authorities to go down this route against smokers, then do not be surprised if we start seeing neighbours pitted against neighbours on a whole range of other issues where people object to the legal activities that others engage in behind the privacy of their own front door."

Mychoice.ca members believe in mutual respect and accommodation, and that sensible approaches can be taken to resolve problems if we stop trying to turn one group against another and trampling on some of our society's most basic principles.

"We can find ways to get along," Ms. Daigneault said. "We just need to put an end to attempts by some to use fear mongering as a substitute for reasoned debate and fair and sensible laws."

Mychoice.ca offers a voice for Canada's adult smokers and others who believe in fair laws, government accountability and personal choice.

It is a registered non-profit organization.

It is funded through the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers' Council, but is a registered independent non profit group that operates solely to give a voice to the concerns raised by the more than 42,000 individuals who have so far signed up as members.

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