>From the latest issue of 'Employee Benefit News Canada', a publication for Human Resources professionals and health care services providers and insurers. Here's a link to their sign-up Web site for their magazine:
http://benefitnews.com/data/ebncanada.cfm <http://benefitnews.com/data/ebncanada.cfm> And here's the (short) article: Ontario study to evaluate smoking cessation therapies Employers providing coverage for smoking cessation programs will be closely monitoring a new study to be conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion <http://www.mhp.gov.on.ca/english/default.asp> and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. In the first study of its kind in Canada, the Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients Study is a program that will distribute Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), including nicotine gum or patches to a group of eligible smokers free of charge and monitor their effectiveness in the quitting process. While smoking rates in Ontario have declined over the past twenty years, 20% of Ontarians continue to smoke. This means that over 2 million people may potentially develop serious illness as a direct result of their dependence on tobacco. Smoking is the largest preventable cause of disease in Ontario and represents a significant burden on Ontario's health care system, totaling $1.7 billion every year. "If people are able to quit sooner, they may be able to prevent the onset of serious illnesses brought on by smoking," said Dr. Peter Selby <http://www.ukcrn.org.uk/index/about/ukcrncc/pselby.html%20> , Clinical Director of Addiction Programs, CAMH and Principal Investigator of the STOP Study. "This study will allow us to help people along in the process and monitor which quitting methods are most effective. This way, we will be able to better treat people in the future." Happy Learning, Yovan P. Putra <http://primamind.blogspot.com> www.primastudy.com <http://www.primastudy.com>
