3 Tobacco-Free Champions from Muskoka
SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Three Muskoka apartment and condo smoke-free housing advocates are among this year’s Tobacco-Free Champions who want to make tobacco-free living a reality.
The six winners of the 2018 Tobacco-Free Champion awards have contributed on two important fronts – helping people quit smoking and increasing the number of smoke-free condos and apartment options available in the region.
They were recognized by the Simcoe-Muskoka Health Unit in the following categories:
Quit smoking supporters:
Barrie & Community Family Health Team (BCFHT) members have been working with local residents looking for quit smoking support since 2011. In 2017 alone these specially trained quit counsellors from a multi-disciplinary team of respiratory educators, pharmacists, diabetes educators and registered nurses, have helped more than 400 people trying to quit smoking. They work in partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to provide free nicotine replacement therapy along with the counselling to increase success rates. Anyone who has a doctor who is part of the BCFHT can access the quit smoking supports provided by this dedicated group.
Shona Anderson-Wong is a respiratory therapist and anesthesia assistant in the operating room at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie. Knowing that smoking increases the risk of surgical complications during and after an operation, she is dedicated to supporting patients to have the best outcomes possible. She takes a lead role to help them manage their nicotine withdrawal symptoms short term by ensuring they have nicotine replacement therapy during their hospital stay. With a goal to help them quit smoking for good she also makes it her priority to be sure they are linked to community-based supports to help them stay smoke-free after hospital discharge. She has been described by her nominator as a worthy, dedicated practitioner who is committed to continuing education so that she can provide the best care for her patients.
Smoke-free housing advocates:
When moving into an apartment or condominium building you don’t know who you will be sharing the air with through the buildings ventilation system, over the balcony or seeping through outlets and fixtures. But you can be sure that if there are people living around you who smoke, you can find yourself breathing their second-hand smoke in your private unit. The good news is the number of smoke-free units in the marketplace is growing thanks to the work of these recognized tobacco-free champions.
Julie Bryant, a property manager with Bayshore Property Management Inc., introduced and promoted No Smoking buildings to multiple condominium boards in her portfolio in Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and beyond. She has successfully helped these boards develop and include No Smoking clauses in their declarations, bylaws and/or rules so that the buildings can become smoke-free as units turn over. She is confident in promoting them, knowing most residents are happy with the cleaner, healthier environment and the protection it offers from second-hand smoke and vape.
Muskoka-based MCRS Property Management is no stranger to managing smoke-free, multi-unit housing. About 80 per cent of the buildings the company manages are designated as No Smoking and that’s no coincidence. MCRS recognizes smoke-free living in apartments and condos makes good business sense on a number of fronts. It reduces fire risks at the properties, lowers the costs to clean, refurbish and maintain units, and it makes the properties attractive to the largest possible audience of both local and seasonal residents. The property management company is also recognized for championing smoke-free multi-unit housing with developers in the hopes that as new buildings come on to the market they will be 100 per cent smoke-free and attractive to buyers and rental audiences.
Bracebridge condominium, Legends at the Falls is celebrating its first full year as a No Smoking property. Both buildings at the Kimberly Avenue site as well as the manicured grounds and patios overlooking the falls are all No Smoking. The condominium board members did their homework with the help of property manager Julie Bryant, held information meetings with owners and gained the required support of owners to include No Smoking in the condo corporation’s declaration to ensure all owners could be protected from secondhand smoke of all kinds in the years ahead.
Barrie’s Grand Harbour Condominium on Toronto Street is among the first in a row of buildings overlooking Kempenfelt Bay to become No Smoking. The condominium board got positive feedback from their owners, local real estate representative, and others in the community when they asked their unit owners to support a No Smoking rule for all units. Only three owner/ occupants self-identified they wanted to continue to smoke in their units so the board grandfathered them under the new rule. The remaining 128 units, all 131 balconies and the entire grounds have been designated No smoking. Signage has been put up for all visitors, contractors and delivery personal to ensure the rule is followed. The move has also encouraged other buildings along Toronto Street to move ahead with their plans to go smoke free for the health of it!
Tobacco- free Champion Awards are presented annually by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit to celebrate World No Tobacco Day and highlight the progress being made to reduce the preventable death and disease caused by tobacco industry products.
