Are the profits from government sponsored gambling worth the cost in human lives, broken relationships and misery?
Since the early 1990s permanent casinos have been springing up in communities all across Canada. Our government has relaxed its views on gambling and made it much more accessible to adults everywhere. In more recent years this has expanded to include government-run online gambling portals as well. With this increase in availability has come an…
Young people are getting hooked on vaping, despite the many unknowns. We need to develop effective counter programs before it's too late
In 1973, the band Brownsville Station released the song Smokin’ in the Boys Room. At the time, nearly half of Canadian adults and teens smoked. Reports had been coming out for years about the dangers of tobacco use but smoking was still seen as a cool thing to do. Over the next several decades, the…
National Workaholics Day is no reason for celebration. By working smarter, you could work less – and have more time for family, friends and fun.
July 5 is National Workaholics Day. But is this something we should really be celebrating? According to Forbes, the average Frenchman works 18 hours a week; the average Italian about 16.5 and the British work 21.5. But in North America, our idea of full employment is a standard 40-hour week. And in some locales, that…
Limiting access to alcohol led to chaos during the Prohibition. Will constraining opioids do the same?
There are so many reasons to be very glad that we live in Canada – one of the main is that we’re governed by the rule of law. Laws and the rules and regulations that underpin them are enacted by democratically-elected governments. They’re enforced and upheld by police and courts that are amazingly upright and…
Vaping comes with serious health risks, just like other tobacco products, but the Ontario government doesn't seem to care
As a clinician and researcher in the field of tobacco control, what I see happening with vaping marketing and promotion is déjà vu of the very worst kind. It’s pervasive and insidious. And in Ontario, we’re failing our youth by permitting it. Over the last 30 years, we have fought many policy battles with the…
Abstinence-based treatment is ineffective. We need to invest heavily in harm reduction strategies
By Sen. Jane Cordy and Sen. Raymonde Gagné “I wasn’t born to be a drug addict,” said a brave member of the audience at our recent open caucus meeting in the Senate on the Opioid Crisis in Canada. He told us of his struggle with drug addiction over two decades. His closing words hung in…
You really don't need to be in contact with everyone 24-7
Most of us have become almost totally dependent on technology – and in the process, many of us have lost the art of true communication. In many ways, being tech-connected in the 21st century means being disconnected from humanity. Certainly everyone has a story about how the digital world has let them down – the computer that…
The delays, mistakes and outright incompetence related to cannabis legalization suggest we won't be able to manage opioid use
Ever since the oft-delayed rollout of legal recreational cannabis sales in Canada on Oct. 17, there have been problems across this vast and highly regulated land. All of these problems mean the illegal cannabis market remains intact. They also suggest we won't be particularly adept at handling legitimate drug crisis in this country. The cannabis-related…
Health Canada offers a framework for the sale of edible cannabis products before the October 2019 launch. Will we be ready?
You think October 2018 was complicated, wait until edible cannabis products are legalized by October 2019. It’s just a matter of time before the edible market represents the majority of the cannabis market in Canada. A study released last year suggested that 93 per cent of consumers supporting Ottawa’s legalization plans would try a cannabis-infused food…
Starting this Christmas, have the guts to turn off the phone for a few days – okay, start with one day – and contemplate what you have to celebrate
Someone once asked me if I missed the mayhem of owning a business at Christmas time. The truth is, I do. While I don’t miss taking inventory, all the extra hours, the squeeze of trying to find enough time for family and customers, figuring out if there should be a Christmas bonus or another program,…
Since the early 1990s permanent casinos have been springing up in communities all across Canada. Our government has relaxed its views on gambling and made it much more accessible to adults everywhere. In more recent years this has expanded to include government-run online gambling portals as well. With this increase in availability has come an…
