John Oyston.
John Oyston, a Rosedale resident and an anaesthesiologist at The Scarborough Hospital is pushing the idea of a new quarter design aimed at getting people to quit smoking.
Photo/COURTESY
Working in the health care field, Rosedale resident John Oyston knows as well as anyone that smoking kills.
For that reason, he is leading the charge to have the Royal Canadian Mint produce a new quarter designed to encourage people to break the habit.
As an anaesthesiologist at the Scarborough Hospital, Oyston has learned that in addition to the more commonly-known health hazards associated with smoking, smokers tend to have more difficulty recovering from surgery. He even started up a website (www.stopsmokingforsafersurgery.ca) that points out how smoking can not only cause conditions that require surgery, it also increases a patient's odds of dying after surgery by 38 per cent.
Now, he is lobbying for a Quit Quarter to remind people not to smoke every time they reach into their pockets for change.
"A year ago, I saw the breast cancer coin and that's a great thing, but breast cancer kills 5,400 people a year in Canada compared to 45,000 from smoking," he said. "If the Quit Quarter can make one person stop smoking, or not start, it's made a difference."
Oyston noted that various measures, from warnings on cigarette packages to limiting the public places where smoking is permitted, have made a difference in the number of Canadians who smoke. The Quit Quarter would be one more tool to drive the message home.
He said parents could give children a Quit Quarter as part of their allowance, which could help prevent them from starting smoking in the first place.
"When children smoke, they often start by just buying single cigarettes off of other people," he said. "This would remind them not to waste their money on cigarettes."
Oyston added that smokers who do decide to quit could actually look to the Quit Quarter as inspiration.
"When they have their last cigarette, they could butt it out on a Quit Quarter and keep that quarter as a token to remind them," he said.
Oyston started his Quit Quarter campaign on National No Smoking Week, which runs from Jan. 15 to 21, pitching a design created by his son. He said the Royal Canadian Mint responded positively to his idea, though he had not heard back from the offices of the Prime Minister or Health Minister.
He intends to continue stumping for his idea, urging people to join his Facebook page (www.facebook.com/quitquarter) or follow him on Twitter (@QuitQuarter). He is also looking into getting larger groups in his corner as he lobbies for the new coin design.
"I want to approach (organizations) like the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Lung Association and the Canadian Cancer Society because I think this is an idea that could really make a difference," he said.
For more information on the campaign, visit www.quitquarter.ca