The Rights of Young People!

     Youth from across Central West Ontario call on the Canadian Government to protect the rights of young people from Tobacco Industry exploitation by incorporating the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Canadian law, including an appeal mechanism that would give young people an ability to monitor this law, as well as, encourage countries world wide to follow Canada’s lead.

     Canada signed and ratified the United Nation’s Convention of the Rights on the Child nearly seventeen years ago, requiring the government to protect young people’s rights under this convention. Almost every country in the world has now signed on to this United Nations treaty. Under this convention, young people have the right to be protected from information that may harm their well-being. While there is no reliable estimate of global cigarette marketing expenditures, it is clearly in the tens of billions of US dollars a year. Overwhelming independent research shows that tobacco advertising leads to increased consumption every day, with 80,000 young people around the world become addicted to tobacco every day. Under this convention, young people also have the right to be alive! It is estimated that 250 million children alive today will die from tobacco related diseases.

Updated: 03/26/2009 -