Articles from:May 2019

  • EXPERT ADVISORY: Brock prof available to comment on changes to beer sales

    Thursday, May 30, 2019 | By

    MEDIA RELEASE: 30 May 2019 – R00095

    Buying a six-pack could become much more convenient for Ontario consumers if the purchasing of alcohol in corner stores is made legal.

    On the heels of Monday’s announcement by the provincial government that it plans to end a 10-year contract with The Beer Store to open up where beer can be purchased, a Brock University expert on the history of liquor laws in Canada is weighing in on the issue.

    Brock University Associate Professor of Health Sciences Dan Malleck is a leading researcher on the history of government control over liquor sales in Canada. He is the author of the book Try to Control Yourself: The regulation of public drinking in post-prohibition Ontario, 1927-1944.

    He says the origin of The Beer Store is rooted in pre-Prohibition efforts to rationalize and centralize beer sales for the convenience of both customer and vendor.

    “After Prohibition ended, the Ontario government permitted brewers to create co-operative warehouses in order to relieve pressure at liquor stores, where long lineups caused many complaints,” he says. “Warehouses also made it easier for brewers to deliver to stores and directly to customers.”

    He says the relationship between the control agency and the brewers was less than friendly, with a system in place that was constantly adjusting to figure out the best way to allow access to liquor “while striking a balance between permitting, but also restricting drinking.”

    “These seemingly contradictory impulses persist today, aggravated by varying perceptions of the rights of consumers, the needs to restrict based upon concerns about health and public disorder, and business expectations of a market in which government interference is as limited as possible,” Malleck says.

    Associate Professor Dan Malleck is available for interviews about the topic this week.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

    Categories: Media releases

  • Longtime smoking cessation initiative grew provincewide

    Thursday, May 30, 2019 | By

    MEDIA RELEASE: 30 May 2019 – R00094

    After nearly two decades of providing tobacco control interventions to help thousands of young adults quit smoking or vaping, the Leave The Pack Behind program that has been funded through the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care is winding down and leaving a positive legacy.

    An independent organization based at Brock University, the initiative was launched in 2000 by Brock Health Sciences Associate Professor Kelli-an Lawrance along with a public health nurse and a campus nurse. The trio received funding from the Government of Ontario to create a program to reduce smoking on six campuses across the province.

    Leave The Pack Behind expanded across the province to include partnerships with 44 post-secondary institutions, 35 public health units, multiple health professional associations and many other organizations.

    The program, which had been operating out of the Brock campus, is in the process of ceasing operations after the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care changed how it will provide smoking cessation services.

    Lawrance said that since its inception, the program has provided support to help more than 40,600 young adults quit smoking. In 2018 alone, nearly 16,000 people aged 18 to 29 accessed its programs and services.

    “When Leave The Pack Behind first started, young adults held the dubious distinction of having the highest prevalence of smoking among all age groups in Ontario,” she said. “I’d like to think that the lower rates we see today are due at least in part to the fantastic work of the program.”

    It also laid the groundwork for provincial legislation restricting where smoking was allowed and where tobacco can be sold.

    “I am immensely proud of the way Leave The Pack Behind made connections with young adults in all walks of life, right across Ontario, to help them resist, reduce or quit smoking or vaping,” said Lawrance. “Tens of thousands of young adults quit smoking or vaping with the genuinely respectful, compassionate and effective support of Leave The Pack Behind. That’s an amazing accomplishment.”

    Brock University President Gervan Fearon said the entire University community benefited from the work done by the Leave The Pack Behind team.

    “We thank them for their engagement here at Brock University and many of the gains they achieved will serve as a legacy to future generations of students, faculty and staff,” he said.

    The provincewide program employed nine full-time employees, working out of the central office at Brock, as well as 18 part-time research assistants. Leave The Pack Behind will cease operations in June.

     

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

    – 30 –

    Categories: Media releases

1 2 3 4 … 13