Community Health

[UrbanWaterloo]

Community Health
ROW Public Health (http://chd.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/health.nsf/fmFrontPage?OpenForm)
www.projecthealth.ca

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[UrbanWaterloo]

Region of Waterloo has been a provincial leader in tobacco control
Ontario’s Communities Healthier Thanks to Smoke-Free Legislation
May 25, 2010 | http://chd.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/health.nsf/$All/C37A6CDF70BA25C58525772E0051F39E?OpenDocument

On May 31st, communities across Ontario will celebrate World No Tobacco Day and with good reason. According to a 10-year population-based study recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, reducing exposure to second-hand smoke in public places between 1996 and 2006 played a significant role in lowering hospital admission rates due to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.

The Regional Municipality of Waterloo took a bold step in 1996 to reduce second hand smoke exposure by adopting a smoke-free by-law prohibiting smoking in restaurants and bars and other enclosed public places. The Region of Waterloo was the first municipality in Ontario to do so. The Region showed leadership once again in 2009 by approving a smoke free policy for Regionally-owned community housing, the first policy of its kind in Ontario. This ground breaking policy has attracted interest from other municipalities in Ontario and Canada and is paving the way for advancements in tobacco control both locally and nationally.

Smoke- free recreational space is a new direction for public health. “Smoke-free public parks and playgrounds reduce exposure to second-hand smoke and create positive social norms which may eventually lead to fewer people smoking”, says Sharlene Sedgwick Walsh, Director of Healthy Living, Planning and Promotion at Region of Waterloo Public Health. The results of a 2008 survey found that most Waterloo Region residents are in support of smoke-free public playgrounds.

Waterloo Region is participating in a province-wide initiative called “Play, Live, Be Tobacco Free” to encourage sports and recreational organizations to adopt tobacco-free policies that restrict tobacco use at their games, tournaments or other events.

Our community is healthier thanks to smoke-free legislation, but there is still work to be done to reduce and eliminate death and disease related to tobacco use.

Full CMAJ Study: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/rapidpdf/cmaj.091130v1
Smoke-Free Ontario Act: http://www.mhp.gov.on.ca/en/smoke-free/legislation/in-brief.asp
Play, Live, Be Tobacco-Free: http://www.playlivebetobaccofree.ca

Media Backgrounder: http://chd.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/health.nsf/$All/C37A6CDF70BA25C58525772E0051F39E/$file/MediaBkgrounder.pdf?openelement

A hallmark piece of provincial legislation, the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, came into effect on May 31, 2006 to ensure all Ontarians were protected from the hazards of second-hand smoke. Since the passing of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, Region of Waterloo has gone further to protect the health of residents:

The Regional Municipality of Waterloo enacted a policy that prohibits smoking within 9 metres of the main public entrances to all Regional buildings.
Although the Smoke-Free Ontario Act applies to the inside of public transit terminal buildings, buses and enclosed bus shelters, it does not apply to the platform areas. Grand River Transit conducted a review of the Public Transit By-law in 2008 and determined that smoking was a “prohibited activity” at the terminals, including the platforms. As a result, the by-law was amended to ban smoking within 9 metres of the entrances into terminal buildings and in front of bus doors, as marked by a red semicircle.

Other workplaces in the Region have also adopted smoke-free policies that go beyond the requirements of the Smoke Free Ontario Act, which bans smoking indoors, to include bans on smoking in outdoor areas.

The City of Cambridge recently approved a policy to ban smoking within the newly constructed Civic Square.
The City of Waterloo and the City of Kitchener have corporate policies that prohibit smoking within 9 meters of entranceways to municipally owned and operated buildings
On November 1, 2004, Cambridge Memorial Hospital enacted a no-smoking policy which banned smoking on all hospital property. The ban applies to all individuals entering Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
On December 1, 2004, St. Mary’s General Hospital enacted a policy which does not permit smoking on hospital property considered to be the "island" created by Queen Street's route around the Hospital. Employees, staff and visitors are not permitted to smoke on this portion of hospital property.
As of April 1st, 2010 all new leases signed with Waterloo Region Housing and Region of Waterloo Community Housing Incorporated requires the unit, including any balconies or patios, to be smoke-free. Smoking is also restricted outdoors to a distance of five metres or more away from any windows, entrances or exits to a building or unit. The policy aims to reduce tenants’ exposure to second hand smoke over time.

From 2000 to 2004 in Waterloo Region, 2,223 of all deaths were attributable to smoking, which amounted to almost 16 per cent of all deaths in Waterloo Region. Exposure to second-hand smoke resulted in an additional 64 deaths for the same time period. In Ontario, more than 13,000 Ontarians die every year from tobacco-related illnesses and the fact remains that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Canadian Community Health Survey (2009)
Released June 15, 2010 | http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/100615/dq100615b-eng.htm
Health Fact Sheets: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-625-x/82-625-x2010002-eng.htm
Health Profile, June 2010: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/health-sante/82-228/index.cfm?Lang=E

According to new data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), one in seven or 4.1 million Canadians aged 12 and older suffered an activity-limiting injury in 2009. About 35% of these injuries occurred while taking part in sports or physical exercise, the most common type of injury-causing activity. The data also showed that among the 11.4 million people who reported bicycling, 46% said they never wore a helmet whenever they cycled.

Activity-limiting injuries
Just over 4.1 million Canadians aged 12 and over, or about 15% of this population, suffered an injury severe enough to limit their usual activities in 2009. This was up from 3.4 million, or 13%, in 2001. Of those injuries, 55% received medical attention within 48 hours in 2009, down from 64% in 2001. The most common cause of injury reported by Canadians was falls. In 2009, nearly 1.7 million people, or 41% of those who reported an injury, stated they were injured in a fall. This was more common among women (46%) than men (36%). Taking part in sports or physical exercise was the most frequent type of activity (at the time the injury occurred) for both males (41%) and females (28%). Walking (19%) was the second most common injury-related activity for females, followed by household chores (13%). For males, the next most common activities were working (17%) and doing household chores (15%). In 2009, adolescents aged 12 to 19 had the highest injury rate of all age groups covered by the survey at 26%. The injury rate for adolescent girls rose from 18% in 2001 to 23% in 2009, while the rate increased for adolescent boys from 27% to 29% during the same time period. In 2009, the majority of adolescent boys (70%) and adolescent girls (59%) were injured while participating in sports or physical exercise.

Bicycle helmet use
The CCHS also examined the use of helmets for various sports including bicycling. Among the 11.4 million people aged 12 and over who reported bicycling in the past year, almost half (46%) never wore a helmet. In terms of differences between the sexes, men were more likely to never wear a helmet (48% versus 43%). Although 37% of Canadians always wore a bicycle helmet, this varied considerably across the country. Nationally, five provinces and one territory had rates of bicycle helmet use above the Canadian average: Nova Scotia (66%), British Columbia (59%), New Brunswick (51%), Prince Edward Island (51%), Yukon (51%) and Alberta (48%). Each of these jurisdictions has some form of bicycle helmet legislation. Conversely, those jurisdictions with rates of bicycle helmet use below the national average were Manitoba (22%), Saskatchewan (23%), Quebec (26%), Northwest Territories (28%) and Ontario (34%). Of these, only Ontario has a provincial bicycle helmet legislation. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 38% of people reported always wearing a bicycle helmet, a rate comparable to the national rate.

Breastfeeding
In 2009, nearly 88% of women between the ages of 15 and 55 who had given birth in the past five years breastfed their most recent baby, even if only for a short time. Of the new mothers who did not attempt to breastfeed, medical factors were cited by 28% as the reason for not breastfeeding while an additional 25% said that breastfeeding was "unappealing" and nearly 20% said that bottle feeding was easier. Of those who did breastfeed, 7% stopped after less than one week and 21% stopped by one month. Just over half of new mothers who initiated breastfeeding (54%) continued for six months or longer, while 16% breastfed for more than a year.

Functional health
In 2009, 82% of Canadians aged 12 or older were in good to full functional health according to the Health Utility Index Mark 3. Generally, functional health decreases with age. The percentage with good to full functional health was highest among those aged 20 to 34 (88%), but then declined with age. Overall, men were somewhat more likely to be in good to full functional health than women, although this difference was generally more pronounced in later years. At the age of 55 and older, men were more likely than women to show good to full functional health. For example, among those over the age of 74, 62% of men were in good to full functional health compared with 56% of women.

Smoking
In 2009, one-fifth of Canadians aged 12 or older, or roughly 5.7 million people, smoked either daily or occasionally. Smoking rates in Canada continued to decline in 2009. The rate for men was 23% compared with 28% in 2001. Among women, the rate was 18%, down from 24% in 2001. People typically begin smoking during their teenage years. Consequently, the percentage of Canadians who have not started by age 20 is an indicator of future smoking rates. In 2009, 47% of males aged 20 to 24 had never smoked, up from 36% in 2001. Meanwhile, 54% of similarly aged females had never smoked in 2009, compared with 42% in 2001.

Access to a regular medical doctor
About 85% of Canadians aged 12 or older reported they had a regular medical doctor, up slightly from 84% in 2008. For most age groups, men were more likely than women to report not having a regular doctor in 2009. The largest difference was in the 20 to 34 year old age group, with 33% of men reporting that they did not have a regular doctor compared with 19% of women. This difference, however, decreased with age. Among the 15% of Canadians who did not have a regular doctor, 54% said they had not looked for one, while 44% reported they could not find one. When they needed medical care, 61% of people without a regular doctor said they went to a walk-in clinic, while 13% went to an emergency room.

Obesity
About 18% of Canadians aged 18 or older, or roughly 4.4 million people, reported height and weight that classified them as obese in 2009. This was up from 15% in 2003. From 2003 to 2009, obesity rates among men rose from 16% to 19%, and among women, from 15% to 17%. The CCHS data regarding obesity were based on self-reported weight and height measurements. For height and weight data that are physically measured, please refer to the Canadian Health Measures Survey.

Waterloo Health Unit Profile
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/health-sante/82-228/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Tab=1&Geo1=HR&Code1=3565&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Rate&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Contains&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=

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