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Success Stories2024-05-22T19:56:58+00:00

Let’s Work Together – Success Stories

Inspiring Success Stories

Smoke and Vape Free NB (SVFNB) shares success stories from individuals, groups and organizations who have taken action to live tobacco and smoke-free in their homes, schools, workplace, and communities. An interesting collection of stories that highlight inspiring ideas and celebrates champions within our province is published here on our website.

We also encourage you to follow us on social media – look for the #TobaccoFreeLiving #Champions hashtags to find these inspiring stories.

We are always looking for new stories to share!

Contact us!

2024

Vitalité’s Smoking Cessation Clinic: A Success Story

Becoming a non-smoker was something Sharon Marson never thought she’d accomplish in her lifetime. Having smoked for close to 50 years, her longstanding addiction to nicotine was starting to produce concerning health effects. When asked how many cigarettes she was smoking per day her first thought was a half [...]

2023

2022

Long-Term Success Story: Smoke-Free for 17 years Through Fitness and Vitality

When it was announced that the price of cigarettes were rising again, Cindy Losier knew she had had enough; it was time to quit. “Five of my co-workers all planned to quit on the day cigarette prices were going up. I quit along with them, they eventually went back [...]

2020

Hampton High School Teacher Takes Comprehensive Approach to Rise in Youth Vaping

Hampton High School teacher Hardy Cameron initially saw vaping as a fad at his school like fidget spinners, but soon realized he couldn’t be more wrong. Within a short period of time, he noticed an increasing number of students vaping on school grounds, in bathrooms, and even on buses. [...]

2019

Central NB Academy’s TATU Group – Exceptional Tobacco and Smoke-Free Living Champions Making A Difference in Their Community!

CNBA TATU receiving a 2019 Community Health Recognition Award from Horizon Health Network. From left to right: Karen McGrath, President and CEO of Horizon Health Network, Lynsey Wilson Norrad, Social worker with Horizon Health Network and facilitator of CNBA TATU, Callie Munn, Lia Munn, and Leanne Mountain, students and [...]

Parks & Trails Day NB 2019 – Make Your Event Smoke-Free!

Parks & Trails Day NB is an annual event held on the first Saturday of June which provides an opportunity to promote healthy, active living in communities across the province while celebrating New Brunswick’s many incredible outdoor spaces. Every year, several thousand New Brunswickers take to their favourite trails, parks, [...]

Wellness Champions – Tobacco and Smoke-Free Living

We all have a wellness story, whether it’s our own personal journey, being part of a group initiative, or seeing a need and helping create a wellness-supporting environment to help make healthy choices more accessible for others. One of the missions of our friends at The Wellness Movement is to bring [...]

2018

“My Daughter Sophie Was my Inspiration to Live Tobacco-Free!”

Wellness Week Contest Winner Lynne Pitcher Shares Her Quit Smoking Journey  Lynne Pitcher, 37, Riverview, NB, credits her daughter Sophie, 5, for being the inspiration and strength she and her husband, Rob Pitcher, needed to break free from their personal prison as smokers to be able to now proudly [...]

It’s Never Too Late to Quit Smoking! Two Inspiring New Brunswick Women Show that Tobacco-Free Living Can be Achieved and Is Worth It for Long-Term Smokers.

Corinne Savage (66, Riverview, NB) and Yvette Austin (79, Saint Pons, NB) are two inspiring women in their senior years who prove that tobacco-free living is possible at any age and is worth it—even after decades of being a smoker. Both were contacted by the NBTAC upon sharing on [...]

Parks & Trails Day NB – An Excellent Opportunity for Outdoor Smoke-Free Events

Parks & Trails Day NB is an annual event held on the first Saturday of June which provides an opportunity to promote healthy, active living in communities across the province while celebrating New Brunswick’s many incredible outdoor spaces. Every year, several thousand New Brunswickers take to their favourite trails, [...]

New Brunswickers Achieve Healthy Tobacco-Free Lifestyle Thanks to Walk or Run to Quit

UPDATE (December 14, 2018): Walk or Run to Quit programs for 2018 have ended. All Walk or Run to Quit options are currently on hold while new program delivery options are being evaluated. Check website for options and updates in 2019: www.runtoquit.com Walk or Run to Quit — a [...]

Marlene O’Neill Celebrates Tobacco-Free Living. Freedom from Cigarettes After Being a Smoker for 50 Years.

Marlene O'Neill, winner of the NBATC's #SayNoToTobacco Facebook contest. Proud to be now living tobacco-free! This past January, the NBATC held a #SayNoToTobacco Facebook contest celebrating National Non-Smoking Week by encouraging people to share why they are proud to live tobacco-free and encourage a friend or loved one on [...]

Winners of the NBATC’s #SayNoToTobacco Facebook Contest Will Make You Realize How Important It Is to Take Care of Your Lungs

The New Brunswick Anti-Tobacco Coalition’s (NBATC) National Non-Smoking Week #SayNoToTobacco Facebook Contest winners Valérie Doiron St-Coeur (29, Brantville, NB) and Josée Mallais (36, Tracadie, NB) are an inspiring duo. You would never know upon meeting Valérie that she almost lost her life to cystic fibrosis. She lives a normal, [...]

CCNB Edmundston Leads the Way in New Brunswick with Province’s First Smoke-Free Campus

The Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB) Edmundston Campus became the first college campus in New Brunswick to implement a smoke-free environment policy in September 2017. Under New Brunswick’s Smoke-Free Places Act, all elementary, middle and high schools must have smoke-free grounds. Post-secondary institutions are not required to be completely [...]

Irving Oil Refinery’s Tobacco-Free Workplace Program, a Model for Success

The Irving Oil Ltd. refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick is a great example of how companies can promote health and well-being in the workplace, by taking action on tobacco use. Winner of a National Heart & Stroke Foundation Tobacco-Free Innovation Award in 2013, it is the first oil [...]

“People don’t realize just how powerful of an addiction it can be.” Randy Hunter Hopes His Story Can Warn Young People About the Dangers of Tobacco.

Mayor Randy Hunter, 64, of Tide Head, New Brunswick is one of those energetic and positive people you instantly like upon meeting. The former teacher (34 years of service at various schools, with the last 12 years at Sugarloaf Senior High School in Campbellton) turned mayor is a much-loved [...]

2017

”Run to Quit” Helps New Brunswickers Get Active to Overcome their Nicotine Addiction

Moncton Quit Coaches Christian Jasper (left) and Cindy Johnson (right) pose with Running Room founder John Stanton (centre). Physical activity is often recommended by health practitioners and is a powerful tool in a smokers’ arsenal to quit smoking. Exercise reduces cravings and helps manage withdrawal symptoms. That is the [...]

Tobacco Is Harmful to Animals Too: Embracing Tobacco-Free Living Is the Best Thing Pet Owners Can Do!

The harmful effects of second-hand cigarette smoke are well known, which is why many smokers will refrain or are asked to refrain from smoking around friends, family members and, especially, children. But most people don’t often stop and think about how their tobacco use can affect their beloved animals. [...]

The Journey Into Motherhood as a Catalyst for Embracing a Healthier Tobacco-Free Lifestyle: Four New Brunswick Women Share Their Story.

Most people who have recently quit smoking will agree that getting over a nicotine addiction requires a lot of determination. You must not only take care of your physical cravings but also have the right kind of attitude. Often, after a few failed attempts, people successfully quit once something [...]

A Father and Artist’s Journey to Becoming Smoke-Free: Patrick Hardy’s Story

Patrick Hardy, 42, is a well-known spokesperson for autism, thanks to a book series called My Friend Sam, which presents the daily struggles that children who are diagnosed with autism deal with every day, inspired by his son Samuel, now 11 years old. The books, intended for a young [...]

A group effort at school and in the community: the success story of Fundy High School

Sarah Morgan-Lee is a science and math teacher at Fundy High School. She also works with the school's Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) group. "Our name is our mission," she said. The group consists of 20 students, ranging from grades 9 to 12, as well as different members of [...]

Stop Smoking, Start Living! at Harvest House Atlantic

Denise McCluskey is the Development and Marketing Officer at Harvest House Atlantic in Moncton. The centre has been a staple of the city since 1997, offering an emergency homeless shelter, serving over 150 meals a day, and hosting several recovery and General Educational Development programs. Through a government program, [...]

Let the students choose their path: the Ridgeview Middle School success story

The Ridgeview Middle School teaches 289 students from grades 6 to 8 in the Oromocto region. Wendy Carlisle, the school coordinator, with Julie Carr and Pat Kilfillen, two public health nurses, facilitate the school's first Middle School TATU Club, with the help of a Take Action Against Tobacco Use [...]

Information and life-skills to prevent smoking in children: the success story of the St. Joseph’s Community Health Centre

The St. Joseph's Community Health Centre in Saint John  Kathy London Anthony works as a community health nurse at the St. Joseph's Community Health Centre in Saint John. Inside St. Joseph's Hospital, a team of professionals, including family physicians, nurses and social workers offer a variety of services to [...]

2016

Smoke-Free, at School and in the Community: the Property Surrounding Cité des Jeunes A.-M. Sormany Goes 100% Smoke-Free!

For the 965 students, back-to-school was special this year at Cité des Jeunes A.-M. Sormany in Edmundston. Since September 1st, 2016, with the help of the Take Action on Tobacco Use Grant Program, the school launched the Un environnement sans fumée, à l'école et dans ma communauté (A smoke-free [...]

The Moncton Hospital Marks Successful Completion of a Year of Smoke-Free Together Throughout New Brunswick

On October 5, 2016, the Moncton Hospital became the final hospital in the Horizon Health Network to join the Smoke-Free Environment Policy. A ceremony was held in the hospital's atrium to mark the event, with remarks from Mr. Chris Collins, MLA for Moncton Centre, Jean Daigle, Vice President Community [...]

For all the world to know, even with life’s challenges Gabriella Simon’s Personal Smoking Cessation Story.

In August, the New Brunswick Anti-Tobacco Coalition found out about Gabriella Simon through Twitter, by searching for a new success story to feature this fall. "I forgot to say it's been one year since I quit smoking cigarettes!" she wrote in a tweet. Simon, 20, is from the Burnt [...]

Smoke-Free Together Initiative Successful at Saint John Regional Hospital. Initiative Supports Employees’ Quit Smoking Journey, Improves Morale and Enhances Everyone’s Well-Being.

Some of the staff members from Employee Health and Wellness at the Saint John Regional Hospital. Left to right: Andrea (Andy) Johnson, Regional Director, Workforce Engagement, Karen Dunham, Registered Nurse, Lori Mason, Administration, Edie Daniels, Registered Nurse. In September 2015, Horizon Health Network annouced the introduction of its Smoke-Free [...]

You Have to Do It for Yourself! Sandra Melanson’s Personal Smoking Cessation Story.

Sandra Melanson started smoking when she was 15 years old. “From the very first inhale of tobacco smoke, I was hooked,” she recalls. “All my friends smoked back then; it was out of peer pressure that I started. We’d be smoking in the school yard and at the bus [...]

“Don’t Beat Yourself Up and Stop Trying When You Have Setbacks. Get the Professional Help You Need and Try a Different Approach.” Mike and Karen McGraw Share How Being Smoke-Free Has Positively Impacted Their Lives.

This past winter, the New Brunswick Anti-Tobacco Coalition (NBATC) held a Twitter contest inviting citizens to celebrate National Non-Smoking Week (Jan 17-23, 2016) by posting photos of signs indicating smoke-free outdoor public spaces in their communities. The goal was to shine a spotlight on the many outdoor public spaces, [...]

Bonar Law Memorial High School’s Teens Against Tobacco Use Club Uses Engaging Peer-Lead Outreach to Help Its Student Population Be Smoke-Free.

Bonar Law Memorial High School’s (Rexton, New Brunswick) It’s Quitting Time project has got its grade 9 through 12 Teens Against Tobacco Use Club members coming up with creative ways to get their peers to adopt healthy smoke-free lifestyles. “I used to be a smoker myself and have been [...]

Harcourt School Empowers Its Young Students to Say No to Smoking and Second-Hand Smoke.

Kevin Scully is the principal at Harcourt School, a very small rural school in Kent County, New Brunswick with only 40 students from kindergarten through grade 5. Thanks to a Take Action Against Tobacco Use Grant offered by the New Brunswick Department of Social Development, Scully has been able [...]

Team NB Benefits from Healthy Tobacco-Free Policy at North American Indigenous Games

Did you know that First Nations youth in New Brunswick are living healthy tobacco-free lifestyles thanks to sports and recreation? One of the best examples of tobacco-free sports programs and initiatives is the North American Indigenous Games’ zero tolerance policy when it comes to recreational tobacco, alcohol, and drug [...]

Smart Choices Centre Is the Place to Be for Students at Caledonia Regional High School – Reinforcing Healthy Tobacco-Free Habits.

Caledonia Regional High School teacher Benjamin Kelly and prinicipal Donna Godfrey. Caledonia Regional High School is a small secondary school in Hillsborough, New Brunswick, with approximately 310 students enrolled in grades 6 through 12. Set in a beautiful and rural setting, the school welcomes students from the communities of [...]

The Movement for Outdoor Smoke-free Spaces Is Growing in New Brunswick – All Vitalité Health Network’s Hospitals and Clinics Will Respect a Smoke-free Environment Policy on Their Properties

Beginning in 2015, New Brunswick’s Health Networks have become leaders in the growing movement for developing more outdoor spaces free of second-hand smoke. In September 2015, Horizon Health Network announced the launch of a new, very ambitious policy aimed at making all outdoor spaces on its properties - including [...]

2015

New Brunswick’s Anti-Tobacco Movement. With Modifications to Its Smoke-free Places and Tobacco and Electronic Cigarette Sales Acts, Province Boasts Some of the Most Progressive Anti-Tobacco Laws in the Country.

Did you know that New Brunswick made significant gains in the fight against tobacco this year (2015) when the government announced amendments to the Smoke-free Places Act and the Tobacco and Electronic Cigarette Sales Act? These changes propelled the province to the forefront as one of the most progressive [...]

Horizon Health Network’s Smoke-Free Environment Policy: A Positive Change Moving New Brunswick Towards a Healthier Future. Saint John Regional Hospital First Property to Go Completely Smoke-Free.

The team: Kerrie Luck (SFT Project Coordinator), Dr. Rob Stevenson (Cardiologist at NB Heart Center and SFT Medical Lead), John McGarry (Horizon Health Network President and Chief Executive Officer), Margaret Melanson (Vice President, Quality and Patient Centred Care for Horizon Health Network and co-chair of the Smoke-Free Together initiative), [...]

Smoker’s Helpline – Cessation Support Only A Click or Call Away

Current research shows that about half of cancers can be prevented through healthy lifestyle choices and policies that protect the public. The single best thing a person can do to improve one’s health is to quit smoking. Take Karen Hodgin, of Riverview, for example. She smoked for 48 years, [...]

“Cigarettes Have No More Power Over Me!” Local Musician Dan Maloney Shares His Personal Struggle and Victory Over Nicotine.

Dan “the piano guy” Maloney’s talent has been impressing audiences since the age of 15. An accomplished musician, this Saint John (New Brunswick) native has shared his joie de vivre and musical talent through shows in piano bars, nightclubs, conventions, trade shows, private parties and weddings with a mixture [...]

Riverview Pharmacy Playing Key Role in Promoting Healthy Smoke-Free Lifestyles.

For the Jean Coutu Pharmacy on Coverdale Road in Riverview (New Brunswick), customer service goes beyond offering and dispensing medication. The pharmacy’s staff is involved in various community outreach and well-being initiatives, such as free counseling services, health assessments, a walking club, and various clinics aimed at helping customers [...]

Défi Qui Cesse Gagne! (Biggest Quitter Challenge) Personal Commitments Towards Tobacco-Free Living

For many people, quitting smoking can be one of the biggest challenges to overcome. It is a challenge that is often made easier with the support and encouragement of others. Often, the act of sharing a personal goal, like quitting smoking, with an attentive ear, getting the right resources [...]

“Break It Off” Campaign Comes to New Brunswick! Students Embrace Newfound Savings By Dumping their Cigarettes.

What do you get when you mix a few young, outgoing and high energy smoking cessation ambassadors on a cross-Canada tour with an eye-catching truck from which young people can tell the world, via the power of social media, what they will do with the money they save by [...]

The Town of Hampton Shows It Is a Tobacco-Free Living Champion with Its New Outdoor Smoke-Free Policy

In December 2014, the Town of Hampton showed tobacco-free living leadership by implementing a policy restricting the use of tobacco on all town-owned property, including parks, trails and outdoor spaces around the Hampton Community Centre. Deputy Mayor Robert Doucet says he was first concerned about his community’s smoking habits [...]

In the Acadian Peninsula, Smokers Are Learning To Run and Breathe In Fresh Air – Tobacco-Free!

Brigitte Ouellette is a Respiratory Therapist and Certified Respiratory Educator at the Vitalité Health Network. As a member of the Acadian Peninsula’s Anti-Tobacco Coalition, she and her colleagues are always looking for interesting initiatives that can reach smokers and give them tools to live a healthier tobacco-free lifestyle. "Since [...]

Quitting Smoking: A Race Towards Health and Wellness!

Robert Roy-Boudreau attributes training for a marathon with helping him to quit smoking, with the end result being the ability to fully live and celebrate life. His race began over a year ago and he’s been sharing his story ever since in order to encourage smokers and ex-smokers to [...]

Many New Brunswick Communities Want to Organize Smoke-Free Outdoor Events

New Brunswickers enjoy getting out in nature (photo: HEPAC in motion Parks and Trails Day 2014). For many New Brunswickers, getting out and enjoying nature does not include the idea of second-hand cigarette smoke. Perhaps this was no more evident than in the recent in motion Parks & Trails [...]

2014 In Motion Parks & Trails Day in New Brunswick: Smoke-Free Green Spaces!

The in motion Parks & Trails Day on June 1st is an annual province-wide event promoting healthy, active living in our communities while celebrating the many incredible outdoor spaces in our beautiful province. Led by communities, wellness networks, school leaders and volunteers, it is an opportunity for New Brunswickers [...]

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