There have been countless strategies, from all levels of government, to deter kids from picking up a cigarette. Advertising campaigns, contests, posters- you name it, governments have tried everything. Nothing has worked. Kids don't respond well to being told what to do.

The current Ontario government is trying something different. It's stupid. Stupid.ca that is.

As part of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy, the government introduced Stupid.ca, an innovative multi-media campaign that engages and informs youth about the realities of smoking cigarettes. What's different this time is that the campaign was actually developed for youth, by youth.

"About 90,000 kids try smoking every year in Ontario," said Dr. Sheela Basrur, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health. "We need to reach these kids before they start smoking. This campaign gives young people the information they need, in their own language, to help them make choices now that can affect the rest of their lives."

Stupid.ca, aimed at 12-15 year olds, was created by a youth panel of 14-to 21-year-olds that worked with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to design the concept of the campaign.

At Stupid.ca there is tons of information that kids can explore, including a tour of a residential "basement" that is full of the various chemicals that go into cigarettes, like tar, formaldehyde, and argolein. It's pretty gross. But the website talks to kids. It doesn't preach. It is interactive and informative. And it's working. Youth panel member Kierston Fu thinks she knows why.

"We aren't lecturing kids about what they should do," Fu said. "We're providing information about smoking that we hope will make them stop and think about the choices they make."

Stupid.ca is just one part of the government's strategy to reduce tobacco use in Ontario. In December 2004 it introduced legislation that would see a 100 per cent smoking ban in all workplaces and public places by May 2006.

March 2005

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