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The
JOURNEY
for a TOBACCO-FREE
WORLD
On
May
31, 2010
- the World Health Organization's 23rd
annual World
No Tobacco Day
- 30-year anti-tobacco activist Errol E. Povah and his Support Crew
will embark on the world's first JOURNEY for a TOBACCO-FREE WORLD,
a 6,300 kilometre "run, walk or crawl, from Victoria to Montreal."
Time, energy and resources permitting, the Journey will then head
south to New York City; those two destination cities being chosen
specifically because they are home to the head offices of Canadian
and American tobacco companies, where large anti-tobacco protests
will be held to coincide with the JTFW's arrival. At the rate of
42 km per day, 6 days a week, the Journey is expected to take about 6
months.
The
purpose of the JTFW: To raise awareness about largely-forgotten,
replaced-by-obesity-etc.
tobacco, the tobacco industry and the anti-tobacco movement, as well
as to raise funds to 'ramp up' the War
on Tobacco.
Note: A total of 30% of the funds raised will be divided equally
among BC Children's Hospital Foundation, Variety the Children's
Charity and Toronto's SickKids Hospital Foundation.
"Globally,
society is losing the war on tobacco, big time. Forty-six years
after the first U.S. Surgeon-General's Report on the hazards of
smoking, one would expect the death toll to be dropping, fast...and
nearing zero. But tobacco continues to be the leading - and most
easily and cheaply preventable -- cause of disease, disability and
premature death in Western society," Povah said.
"Thanks
primarily to Big Tobacco's aggressive and virtually unfettered
marketing and advertising campaigns - most notably, in developing
nations...and as always, despite the industry's vehement denials,
targeting teens and even pre-teens -- the WHO is predicting that,
unless drastic action is taken, the death toll from tobacco will
actually double
over the next 10 years," he added.
It
is hoped that Povah's 'drastic action' will sufficiently
inspire/motivate everyone
- but especially politicians at all levels of government and all
other policy-makers, police and bylaw enforcement officers, et al -
to "take off the kid gloves when dealing with the tobacco industry
and its wide range of addictive and deadly products, do
the right thing
and tackle this issue with the very long overdue aggressive and
effective action it deserves.
A
'meet
and greet'
will begin at 9:00
a.m.
on Monday, May 31 at Mile Zero of the Trans-Canada Highway in
beautiful Beacon Hill Park, downtown Victoria (south end of Douglas
St., at Dallas Rd.), about 1.3 km south of the Parliament Buildings.
The traditional 'leg-dipping' (in the Pacific) will take place at
9:45...and the run will commence at 10:00
a.m.
From
Mile Zero, the JTFW will head north on Douglas St., turn left at
Belleville St. and proceed to the steps of the B.C. Legislature
where,
at about 10:15,
Povah will say a few words about the B.C. Liberals' record on
tobacco control. From there, the JTFW will backtrack on Belleville
to Douglas, turn left, go to Fort St., turn right and proceed to the
head office of B.C. Ferries (Errol's employer for more than 30
years), where he will address the smoking issue as it applies to B.C.
Ferries (at about 10:30).
The JTFW will then backtrack on Fort to Douglas, turn right and
proceed north to Hillside Ave., then go NW on Gorge Rd. E, to Jutland
Rd., turn left and go to 2940 Jutland, where Povah will publicly
comment on some of B.C. Investment Management Corporation's
less-than-moral/ethical
investments (at about 11:00
a.m.).
The JTFW will then go NE/E on Jutland Rd./Finlayson St. to Douglas
St./Hwy #1...and head for Mill Bay!
For
the most up-to-date information regarding our destination each day,
please visit www.tobaccofreeworld.ca/schedule
. For example, near the bottom of that page, you'll see that our
destination
on June 2 is Nanaimo (where Errol spent the first 40 years of his
life), arriving there mid/late afternoon. After spending an hour or
two in Nanaimo, the JTFW will catch a ferry to Horseshoe Bay (West
Van).
June
3 will see the JTFW follow the same route as much ferry traffic: Hwy
#1, right at Taylor Way, left on Marine Drive, right onto the Lions
Gate Bridge, through Stanley Park onto West Georgia, left at Burrard,
and right at Canada Place, to the World Trade Centre building, where
the Vancouver Board of Trade office is. There, Povah - a former
member of the Board of Trade - will publicly call on the VBOT to
remove Imperial Tobacco (Canada's biggest tobacco company) from the
board. Then, the JTFW will turn right/SW on Howe St., left/SE on
Nelson, across the Cambie Bridge, then left/east on Broadway/Hwy #7
through Vancouver and most of Burnaby (with quick visits to two very
well-hidden and anonymous [no signs] tobacco company offices within
the GVRD).
Povah
encourages everyone to run and walk with him and his Support Crew.
In fact, nothing would make him happier than to have
busloads of tobacco industry 'targets' - high school and even
elementary school-aged kids - join the Journey, whether it's just
for a few minutes or for a few kilometres!?!
EVERYBODY
HAS A TOBACCO STORY; NONE OF THEM HAVE A HAPPY ENDING.
-- 30 -
Errol can be contacted by clicking here. Journey for a Tobacco Free World site: http://tobaccofreeworld.ca/
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