A new anti-smoking initiative at the Porcupine Gold Mine is winning Goldcorp an award. The company received the Heather Crowe Award, given out by the Ontario government. The award is named for the anti-smoking activist, who died of lung cancer after breathing in second hand smoke for 30 years.
Ontario’s Associate Health Minister, Dipika Damerla, says there are many people like Heather Crowe out there working every single day to help people quit. She says the awards are an opportunity to celebrate the every day heroes who are helping and reducing the harmful effects of tobacco.
Goldcorp enacted their Tobacco-Free Policy this week, taking a number of steps to help their employees go smoke free. Those steps include:
- Goldcorp will provide occupational Health Nurses for counselling
- Free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to all employees and contractors on site,
- $300 per year per employee for additional smoking cessation measures. Prescription medication to help quit can be obtained through the employee benefits plan
- The Porcupine Health Unit will also be offering Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients (STOP) workshops for Goldcorp family members.
Damerla says the provincial government is also implementing a new online hub to help people quit the habit, which will house all of the many programs available in Ontario to help people quit smoking. She says it’s one online presence that will give all of the resources.
Ontario’s action plan can be found online, click here.