Dear

Cigarette smoking is the #1 cause of preventable deaths in Canada. Smoking causes lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and cardiovascular diseases. It kills over 40,000 Canadians every year.

Nineteen percent of Canadians still smoke, and the number of smokers in Canada is going up. We need to do more to discourage young people from starting to smoke, and to encourage smokers to quit.

The "Quit Quarter" is a new way to put a smoking cessation message in every Canadian's pocket. It is a 25c coin with a broken cigarette design, similar to the poppy and pink ribbon quarters which the Canadian mint has already issued.

This coin would remind everyone of the importance of not smoking. Children would get the coin as part of their pocket money. Smokers would find the coin in their hands as they pay for cigarettes.

Canada was the first country in the world to issue coloured coins into general circulation. We could also be the first country in the world to use our coins as a way of getting the message about the importance of smoking cessation into circulation.

Please check out the www.quitquarter.ca web site for more details and a sample of what the Quit Quarter may look like.

I support the "Campaign for the Quit Quarter".

Will you?