Pharmacists for a Smoke Free Canada was founded Jan 1 2011 and was incorporated Feb 8 2021.

Its inception was built with the idea that pharmacists are perfectly positioned to be leaders in providing assistance to patients who are affected by tobacco addiction.

Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of disease and death in Canada, killing 37,000 Canadians annually. Direct health care costs from tobacco are more than $4.4 billion per year, and total economic costs are more than $17 billion per year. ⁱ For every premature death caused by tobacco, there are at least 20 people living with a tobacco-related illness.ⁱⁱ The burden of tobacco disease is an epidemic, and should be treated as an epidemic.

Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare providers and very knowledgeable about drug interactions with tobacco smoke, drug interactions with smoking cessation medications and the possible dose adjustments required for certain medications while quitting smoking.

Brief interventions by healthcare providers double quit rates and medication with support can increase quit rates six fold.ⁱⁱⁱ

Pharmacists for A Smoke Free Canada members are smoking cessation champions assisting patients with tobacco addiction across Canada.

ⁱCanadian Centre for Substance Abuse (2006), The Costs of Substance Abuse in Canada 2002.
ⁱⁱJ Mackay and M Erikson, The Tobacco Atlas, 2002.
ⁱⁱⁱAdapted from Hughes JR. CA Cancer J Clin. 2000; 50(3):143-51