Canada needs to do better. Over the past several decades, we have seen progress through smoke-free public places, tax increases, public education campaigns and other measures contributing to a dramatic decline in smoking rates. Yet, as of today, tobacco remains the number one cause of preventable disease and death in Canada. It is time to increase our collective efforts to achieve the Endgame goal of a prevalence of tobacco use of less than 5% of the population by 2035.
The goal of “less than 5% by 2035” is not simply a number. It is not a tagline. It represents lives improved and lives saved. Endgame Report 2019 addresses the status of a series of measures that will contribute towards successfully getting to less than 5% by 2035.