A smoke-free sign is now in place in front of Cypress Creek Lodge at Cypress Mountain.

Fresher air for all North Shore powder hounds

The North Shore Mountains are looking and smelling a lot better this ski and snowshoe season. Not only are all three mountains open for business with decent snow bases, all three are now 100% smoke free! This year Mount Seymour and Cypress Mountain joined Grouse Mountain and Whistler Blackcomb in becoming 100% smoke-free resorts.

The VCH Tobacco Reduction Program and Medical Health Officer Dr. Mark Lysyshyn have supported all three mountains in their transitions to becoming smoke-free through providing the resort owners health information and encouraging them to go smoke-free, educating resort staff, helping the resorts update their smoking policies, and providing free nicotine gum to smokers who want to try to quit.

QuitNow available free to BC residents

Staff members at each mountain who are interested in cutting back or quitting their tobacco use have been informed that QuitNow and the BC Smoking Cessation program are available free of charge to those who are permanent residents of British Columbia. International staff members at each mountain have access to free nicotine gum through their health and safety coordinators.

Coastal ski hills now all smoke-free

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and illness in British Columbia. And there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke, and it can lead to disease and premature death in children and adult non-smokers. Smoke-free mountains equal good public health sense and VCH commends Cypress Mountain and Mount Seymour for joining Grouse Mountain and Whistler/Blackcomb in taking steps to protect the public from harmful second-hand smoke.

Both mountains’ new policies include e-cigarettes and marijuana, and have been communicated to guests via the web and updated signage throughout the resorts.

Mark you calendar

National Non-Smoking/Semaine nationale sans fumée week this year is Jan. 15-21.

National Non-Smoking Week (NNSW) has been observed for more than 30 years. It is one of the longest running and most important events in Canada’s ongoing public health education efforts. Established in 1977 by the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control (CCTC), its goals are:

  • to educate Canadians about the dangers of smoking;
  • to prevent people who do not smoke from beginning to smoke and becoming addicted to tobacco;
  • to help people quit smoking;
  • to promote the right of individuals to breathe air unpolluted by tobacco smoke;
  • to denormalize the tobacco industry, tobacco industry marketing practices, tobacco products, and tobacco use; and
  • to assist in the attainment of a smoke-free society in Canada.

For information about tobacco reduction programs at VCH, go to vch.ca and search Tobacco Reduction.