Home » Health » Tobacco Cessation » Atii! Reduce Second-Hand Smoke

Atii! Reduce Second-Hand Smoke

This project was funded by the Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) and the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) of the Public Health Agency of Canada. This project supported Pauktuutit to develop Inuit-specific material and resources that focus on second-hand smoke harm reduction based on the Action on Women’s Addictions – Research and Education (AWARE) program called Start Thinking About Reducing Second-Hand Smoke (STARSS). With the help of an advisory committee the original STARSS material and resources were adapted to be more relevant to Inuit in Nunavut, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut.

The Inuit-Specific STARSS Advisory Committee consisted of Inuit national and regional representatives who are also members of the National Inuit Tobacco Task Group. These representatives have extensive background and expertise in developing high-quality tobacco-related resources for Inuit schools, communities, and the media. They provided an important contribution in terms of developing culturally appropriate STARSS-related material and resources; which were renamed Atii! Reduce Second-hand Smoke.

The Inuit-Specific STARSS Advisory Committee served as a hub for linkages between experts in the field of tobacco cessation and reduction, northern CAPC/CPNP projects, the development of lnuit-specific material and resources, and contacts within the Nunavut Department of Health and Social Services, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Nunavik Regional Health Board, Nunatsiavut Health and Social Development, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and Pauktuutit.

The multi-lingual, multi-dialect final Inuit-specific STARSS material and resources is relevant to Inuit audiences in all four Inuit regions and among urban-based Inuit.