TORONTO, Dec. 30, 2010 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) –
– CTV properties stream more than twice the video than that of its
closest Canadian broadcast competitor -
Link to this release: http://bit.ly/cghslp
By maintaining its stronghold as Canada’s #1
provider of on-demand video online for the third year in a row, the CTV
family of properties marks another milestone in the evolution of online
video in 2010. Since 2008, CTV’s online properties have been the #1
Canadian-owned online video network. This past year, CTV properties
have streamed more than 500 million videos – an average of 53.8-million
video streams each month and a 46% increase over 2009 – setting a new
benchmark for the company.

Each month in 2010 CTV websites on average:

— Stream 53.8-million videos.

— Welcome 8.6-million unique visitors.

— Serve up 2.3 million hours of video.

— Deliver 389-million page views, a grand total of 4.3-billion
page views for the year.

February marked a record high for video views during the Vancouver 2010
Olympic Winter Games. There were more than 251 million page views** for
CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca, nearly four times the amount achieved for Beijing 2008. In addition,

there were 28.5 million videos streamed online with an additional 6
million on YouTube, 7.2 million hours of live and on-demand video
consumed online, and 1.5 million live chat readers.***
“Our strategy is to give our audience more — more choice, more premium
content, and more opportunities to access the best content offered
anywhere online in Canada,” said Alon Marcovici, Executive
Vice-President of Digital Media, CTV Inc. “These numbers illustrate
that we’re connecting with our audience and delivering the quality CTV
experience that Canadians crave.”
Highlights by site for 2010
CTV.ca

— CTV.ca is #1 among Canadian premium streaming sites for online
video with more than 11 million videos streamed each month.

— Top shows on CTV.ca in 2010*:
1. GREY’S ANATOMY
2. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
3. GOSSIP GIRL
4. CRIMINAL MINDS
5. PRIVATE PRACTICE
6. AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
7. LOST
8. THE BIG BANG THEORY
9. DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION
10. FLASHPOINT
— Almost 10 million news clips were streamed from
CTV News in 2010.

— In support of local news programming, CTV has launched new
portals for local stations
CTV Southwestern Ontario,
CTV Regina and
CTV Saskatoon.

MuchMusic.com MTV.ca

— MTV breakout hit
JERSEY SHORE
was the #1 most-streamed show on any CTV-owned site in 2010,
with an incredible 60 million video views.*
— MuchMusic.com and MTV.ca have significantly increased online
video audience in 2010 with average monthly unique viewers for
mtv.ca increasing by 53% and muchmusic.com by 52%.*
— Video views on mtv.ca have averaged 15.4 million monthly, up
155% from 2009.*

TSN.ca

— Sports powerhouse TSN.ca enjoyed a 34% increase in page views
in 2010 over 2009, and also saw increases in unique visitors,
unique viewers and videos viewed.

— Sports fans love watching TSN online, with live and on-demand
sports, game highlights and news earning nearly 90 million
total video views.

TheComedyNetwork.ca

— The Comedy Network extended its online reach with a 26%
increase in unique visitors from November 2009 to November
2010.

— With red-hot
THE DAILY SHOW
and
COLBERT REPORT,
and the return of
CONAN over 30.1
million video streams( )have been served up this year.

DiscoveryChannel.ca, DiscoveryWorldHD.ca, InvestigationDiscovery.ca, ScienceChannel.ca, AnimalPlanet.ca

— Discovery has seen over 200% increase in video views since
launching a new video player launched in October.* It features
all the Discovery properties consolidated into one library and
enhanced video definition.

Spacecast.com

— November 2010 saw a four-fold increase in video views over
November 2009.

— Since launching new site in early November, engagement on
Spacecast.com is up with 22% more page views.(*)

In an industry known for change, CTV’s online video properties are a
proven frontrunner in digital delivery of best in entertainment, news,
sports and information in Canada.

About CTV
CTV’s online properties attract almost 8.6-million unique visitors on
average each month and see more than 389-million page views.

CTVglobemedia gives Canadians the best trans-platform content through
dynamic delivery systems including video online, websites, user
generated content sites, mobile optimized sites and apps. CTVglobemedia
has a combined online community reach 1.4 million on Facebook, Twitter
and other networking platforms. Parent portals www.ctv.ca and www.theglobeandmail.com are the gateways to Canada’s online network.

CTV, Canada’s Olympic Network, is also Canada’s largest private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range
of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming,
CTV is Canada’s most-watched television network. CTV Inc. also owns
radio stations across the country and owns or has interests in leading
national specialty channels, featuring news, sports, factual, arts,
entertainment, music, youth and fashion programming. Official
broadcaster of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
and London 2012 Games of the Olympiad, CTV Inc. is owned by CTVglobemedia Inc., Canada’s premier multi-media company, which also owns Canada’s national

newspaper, The Globe and Mail. More information about CTV may be found on the network’s website at www.ctv.ca.

SOURCE:
All numbers are comScore data averages based on January 2010 – November
2010 inclusive, unless otherwise noted. comScore Media Metrix for
display numbers, and comScore Video Metrix for video.

Statement, ‘Canada’s most-popular online video network,’ based on yearly
average of Unique Viewer data from May 2008 through to November 2009.

*Omniture
**Omniture, plus Flurry for iPhone app
***Cover it Live
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2010/30/c8142.html

SOURCE: News – Media
SOURCE: CTV INC.

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Article source: http://4g-wirelessevolution.tmcnet.com/news/2010/12/30/5218588.htm

DAVOS, Switzerland Maxim Sushinski scored twice, including the eventual game-winner into an empty net, as SKA St. Petersburg defeated Canada 4-3 in the final of the Spengler Cup on Friday.

Canada was trailing 3-1 late in the third period when Brett McLean of Comox, B.C., jumped on a rebound and beat goaltender Jakub Stepanek to cut the deficit to one with 1:22 remaining in regulation. Sushinski then scored the insurance marker into the open cage just 19 seconds later. Josh Holden of Calgary made it 4-3 with two seconds left to close out the scoring.

Micki Dupont of Calgary scored the other goal and goaltender Jeff Deslauriers of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., made 21 saves for Canada, which has participated in five of the last six championship games, last winning in 2007.

Ex-NHLers Alexei Yashin, on a five-on-three man advantage, and Maxim Afinogenov also had goals for SKA St. Petersburg, which became the third straight team from Russias Kontinental Hockey League to triumph at the event. Dynamo Moscow won it in 2008 and Dynamo Minsk claimed the trophy last year.

The Spengler Cup is the oldest professional international hockey tournament in the world, having been held annually since 1923. It pits a Canadian national team composed primarily of professionals playing in Europe against European club teams on their Christmas break.

Canada has won the event 11 times since first taking part in the tournament in 1984.

Article source: http://www.canada.com/sports/Canada+falls+Petersburg+Spengler+final/4046365/story.html?id=4046365

VANCOUVER, Dec. 31, 2010 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) –
Trading resumes in:
Issuer Name: Yorkton Ventures Inc
TSX-V Ticker Symbol: YBI.P
Resumption Time: 01 04, 2011 9:30 AM EDT
To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2010/31/c8274.html

SOURCE: Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)
SOURCE: Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) – Halts/Resumptions
pInvestment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, (416)
646-7299/p

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Article source: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-investment-industry-regulatory-organization-canada-trade-resumption-yorkton-/2010/12/31/5219671.htm

Fri Dec 31, 2010 10:58am EST

Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTZOVNE6FW20101231

Canadas dollar touched the
strongest level since April against its U.S. counterpart as
crude oil traded near $90 as barrel and copper rose to a record,
fueling appetite for currencies that benefit from global growth.

The Canadian currency, nicknamed the loonie for the aquatic
birds image on the C$1 coin, was headed for a 5.4 percent gain
for the year, after climbing 16 percent in 2009. The U.S. dollar
weakened against most of its major counterparts as investors
sought higher-yielding assets.

People are happy to buy Canada, Firas Askari, head
currency trader at Bank of Montreals BMO Capital unit, said by
phone from Toronto. The euro is very bid and commodities are
still elevated.

The Canadian currency appreciated 0.2 percent to 99.80
cents per U.S. dollar at 10:28 a.m. in Toronto, reaching a level
above parity for the fourth straight day. It closed yesterday at
C$1. The loonie touched 99.59 cents today, the strongest since
April 21. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0020.

The currency pared gains as crude oil, Canadas biggest
export, declined 0.6 percent to $89.33 a barrel in New York, and
U.S. stocks retreated, with the Standard and Poors 500 Index
slipping 0.2 percent.

Crude remained near a 26-month high. It touched $91.88 on
Dec. 27, the highest level since Oct. 7, 2008. The price of the
resource has doubled in two years, and Canada is the U.S.s
largest supplier.

Month-end buying of U.S. dollars by Canadian corporations
has eased, helping the Canadian dollar today, said BMOs Askari.

Some Resistance

You have to get through some resistance areas at C$0.9960
and C$0.9935, and then C$0.9900, he said. Resistance refers to
the upper boundary of a trading range, where sell orders may be
clustered. He predicted the loonie will end the day at C$0.9950.

The loonie has risen 2.8 percent in December versus the
greenback, ranking 14th among the U.S. currencys 16 most-traded
counterparts. It has gained the most this month versus the U.S.
dollar and has fallen the most against the Swiss franc, 4.6
percent.

For the year, the Canadian dollar has strengthened against
seven of its major counterparts. It advanced the most against
the Danish krone, 12 percent, and fell the most versus the yen,
8.5 percent.

Government bonds were little changed today, with the yield
on benchmark 10-year notes down one basis point, or 0.01
percentage point, to 3.14 percent. The price of the 3.5 percent
security due in June 2020 rose 12 cents to C$102.89.

Canadas government bonds have lost 0.2 percent this month,
trimming gains for the year to 5.9 percent, versus an advance of
5.5 percent by U.S. Treasuries, according to Bank of America
Merrill Lynch indexes.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Fournier in Montreal at
cfournier3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Robert Burgess at
bburgess@bloomberg.net

Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-31/canadian-dollar-strengthens-to-highest-in-8-months-as-commodities-rise.html

TORONTO Canadians will get to watch Nicole Snooki Polizzi drop out of a ball on New Years Eve just not in Times Square.

MTV in Canada is to show the Jersey Shores star drop in a hamster-like ball in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, as part of MTV U.S.’s New Year’s Eve coverage Friday.

The U.S. channel was earlier denied a permit to perform the ball drop stunt with the reality TV star in Times Square.

MTV Canada-parent CTVglobemedia said it will use the attention paid to Snooki’s midnight ball drop to also air sneak peeks of new episodes of Jersey Shore – Canada’s top-rated cable TV show — that kick off January 6.

Canadians will also get a look-in on the traditional ball drop and big crowds in Times Square, where Snooki is apparently verboten, thanks to live coverage on CNN and ABCs New Years Rockin Eve special.

Meanwhile, Entertainment Tonight Canada is to air its New Year’s Eve at Niagara Falls special on Global Television, while rival Citytv will air a live New Years bash from in front of City Hall in Toronto.

Elsewhere, the CBCs English language network will air the year-end comedy special Air Farces New Years Eve, with a look-back at top Canadian celebrities of 2010, including Justin Bieber and Celine Dion having twins.

And Radio-Canada, the countrys French language public broadcaster, has brought back Veronique Cloutier and Louis Morissette as co-producers of its annual top-rated Bye Bye 2010 New Years Eve sketch show. Their 2008 Bye Bye show caused a flap when satirical comics suggested all black people look alike and that newly elected U.S. president Barack Obama may be easy to assassinate because his black skin stood out against the White House backdrop.

Article source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mtv-canada-2011-snooki-ball-67381

Canada wants to be golden again at the women’s world under-18 hockey championship. They’ll likely have to beat the U.S. in the final to do it.

The defending champions open the 2011 world championship Saturday against Switzerland in Stockholm, Sweden.

The majority of players on the Canadian team faced the U.S. in an exhibition series last August in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Americans swept the three-game set.

“We definitely all know the feeling of losing three games to the U.S.,” said forward Emily Fulton. “We’re kind of keeping that in the back of our minds.”

Canada and the U.S. have met in every final of the three world under-18 championships played to date. The U.S. won the first two — 5-2 in Calgary in 2008 and then 3-2 in overtime the following year in Fussen, Germany.

Canada came back from a two-goal deficit and beat the U.S. 5-4 in overtime to win gold at the 2010 tournament in Chicago. Captain Jessica Campbell scored the winner.

Fulton, from Stratford, Ont., and defenceman Erin Ambrose of Keswick, Ont., are the two returning players from the 2010 roster. They know what it feels like to pile on their teammates to celebrate a world title.

“I’d never been in a more intense game,” Ambrose recalled. “It was a little community rink, but the stands were absolutely packed. There were four rows (of people) deep around the boards.

“When we scored it felt like ‘Oh my goodness, we just won.’ It didn’t really sink in until we sang the anthem.”

The post-victory highlight for Ambrose was attending the July ceremony in Edmonton where she received her championship ring from Hockey Canada alongside the victorious men’s and women’s Olympic teams.

“A lot of us look up to them, me personally and I’m sure I could say that about the other girls on the team,” Ambrose said. “It’s all where most of us want to get to in our careers.”

Finland and Germany are in Canada’s pool along with the Swiss. The other five-team pool includes the U.S., Czech Republic, Sweden, Japan and Russia. The final is Jan. 8.

Canada’s 20-player roster of players born in 1993 and 1994 was chosen from a selection camp of 31 players held Dec. 17-19 in Toronto.

Marie-Philip Poulin, who scored both of Canada’s goals in the Olympic final in February, played in the first two world under-18 championships. This year’s team doesn’t have a standout sniper like Poulin, according to the coach.

“We have a pretty balanced team in that I don’t think we have one player who is going to stand out and score a bunch of goals for us,” head coach Sarah Hodges said. “I think we have to score by committee.”

“We’re strong in net and I think we have four lines that are pretty even in front of solid defence. There’s not going to be anything flashy about us.”

Hodges coaches the University of Regina women’s team and also coached the national under-18 team in that summer series versus the U.S. She’ll be assisted by Cassie Turner and former national team player France Montour in Sweden.

It’s a challenge to get sustained effort out of young athletes, but that is exactly what Canada needs to win another world title.

“We have to learn to compete for 60 minutes.” Hodges said. “We have a good team, but the U.S. also has a good team as well. To beat them, we’re going to have to outwork and outbattle them for 60 minutes.

“We have to do that every game leading up to the medal round if we want to be in the gold-medal game.”

Canada doubled the Swedish bantam boys’ team AIK 4-2 on Thursday in an exhibition game. Caley Mercer of Exeter, Ont., scored a pair of goals with Ambrose and Cydney Roesler of Stittsville, Ont., also scoring for Canada.

Ann-Renee Desbiens of La Malbaie, Que., and Amanda Makela of Thunder Bay, Ont., split goaltending duties. The Swedes outshot Canada 30-28.

The under-18 players aren’t the only women representing Canada in international hockey to start 2011. The under-22 squad opens the MLP Cup next Tuesday in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. The defending champions play their first game against the host Swiss.

That 21-player roster includes four players — Vicki Bendus, Natalie Spooner, Tara Watchorn and Courtney Birchard — who helped Canada’s national team win the Four Nations Cup last month in St. John’s, N.L.

The under-18 team for the world championship isn’t usually chosen via a selection camp. There wasn’t a Canadian women’s under-18 championship in November for Hodges to scout because that tournament isn’t held when there is a Canada Winter Games in the same season.

So the women’s team was chosen in similar fashion to the men’s under-20 team currently competing at the world junior tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. Ambrose feels competing for spots on the team has prepared Canada well for the rigours of the world championship.

“We’re all used to playing our club hockey levels, but this kind of hockey is a different level,” Ambrose said. “It’s a different compete and skill level.

“I think because all of us got to play against the 31 best players in our age group in Canada, it will help all of us.”

Article source: http://www.tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/story/?id=347372

Canada’s Jaden Schwartz, right, celebrates his team’s second goal with Zack Kassian against Czech Republic during first-period action at the IIHF world junior hockey championship in Buffalo, N.Y., on Tuesday. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

To have forward Jaden Schwartz hobbling through HSBC Arena on crutches Thursday was not a reassuring sight for Canada’s team on the eve of its most difficult challenge yet at the world junior hockey championship.

But Canada will have to make do without the stocky first-line winger from Wilcox, Sask., for their showdown with Sweden on Friday (TSN, 4 p.m. ET) and for the rest of the tournament due to a fractured left ankle.

“It’s tough because he worked hard to get here,” said team captain Ryan Ellis. “Now we’ve had a day to regroup and we have to move on.

“It’s tough when a teammate goes down but we’ve got some big things coming up. The Sweden game is going to be a tough test for us and we have to switch our mindset to that.”

They will also need to juggle their lineup to replace Schwartz on their best scoring line and on the point of their first power-play unit.

Canada will also be missing rugged winger Zack Kassian, who will serve the second half of the two-game suspension he was assessed for a hit to the head in a 7-2 win over the Czech Republic on Tuesday. But the team should have defenceman Calvin de Haan and forward Cody Eakin back after each missed a game with an injury.

Quinton Howden was in Schwartz’s spot alongside red-hot centre Brayden Schenn and Ryan Johansen as the team held a short but crisp practice at Buffalo State College. Schwartz was the only player not on the ice.

Canada had a relatively easy ride while winning its first three games by a combined 23-6 score over Russia, the Czech Republic and Norway. But now the Canadians face a team unlikely to buckle under to their heavy-hitting style and that will answer back with a hard forecheck of their own.

Also, they should be up against a solid goaltender for the first time in this tournament with Ottawa Senators prospect Robin Lehner expected to start for Sweden. That should gave Canada an indication whether the cascade of goals in the first three games was a true indication of the team’s scoring prowess.

And Sweden will test a Canadian defence that has looked vulnerable at times.

“Tit for tat,” was how coach Dave Cameron described his approach to the game. “We expect to be big, physical and fast too.

“It’s two good teams that are going to go at one another.”

Olivier Roy will start in goal after giving up his spot to Mark Visentin for one game.

With Sweden’s victory over the Czechs on Thursday, both teams are 3-0 and the matchup will determine first place in their preliminary round group, a position that comes with a bye to the semifinals on Monday.

Canada beat Sweden 4-1 in an exhibition game last week in Toronto that was closer than the score would indicate.

The Canadians were short four skaters as they breezed through lowly Norway 10-1 on Wednesday night, when Schenn had his second straight five-point game to give him six goals and six assists to lead the tournament.

For that game, they didn’t miss Schwartz, who was hurt when a Czech player rolled on him in the first period against the Czechs. The Colorado College forward kept playing and even scored a power-play goal, but the injury was too much to bear.

“It was a dream come true to make this team and to not be able to play in it is tough,” said Schwartz, who will have a cast put on the foot and will stay in Buffalo to cheer his teammates on. “It’s unfortunate timing but sitting here feeling sorry for myself won’t do any good.

“I’ll be here to support the guys. There’s people in the world going through worse things than I am so I’ll keep that in the back of my mind.”

It was a clear reference to his sister Mandi, a Yale University hockey star who has battled leukemia for two years.

Only two days after Schwartz learned he had made Canada’s world junior team, news came that Mandi had suffered a relapse despite undergoing a stem-cell transplant in September.

“It changes your perspective on life when someone that important in your life gets cancer,” he said. “You realize what’s most important. Family and health are the most important things in life.

“I wanted to be here, but more than anything I know my family wanted me to be here, especially my sister. My family’s going to have to switch their plans around. They might come for the Sweden game but they’ll probably go back to Mandi and spend their time with her. There’s a lot of emotions. It is a tough time.”

Schwartz, a five-foot-10, 182-pound forward, is a rookie at Colorado College. He has recorded 11 goals and 15 assists in 17 games but now will be out of action for six weeks.

Schwartz was selected in the first round, 14th overall, of this year’s NHL entry draft by the St. Louis Blues.

“In my profession you meet a lot of good people and every now and then you meet an extraordinary kid,” Cameron said. “He’s one of them and he’ll be missed big time.”

The Canadian Press, 2010

Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/12/30/sp-schwartz-injury.html?ref=rss

Mark Messier’s first major coaching stint has ended with a silver medal at the Spengler Cup.

Former NHL players Alexei Yashin and Maxim Afinogenov scored second-period goals to lead SKA St. Petersburg past Messier’s Canadians 4-3 in the tournament final Friday.

Yashin, on the power play, and Afinogenov scored to give SKA St. Petersburg a 3-1 lead after Micki Dupont pulled the Canadians into a 1-1 tie. But twice in the third Canada rallied to make it a one-goal game, although Josh Holden scored to make it 4-3 came with just two seconds remaining in regulation time.

“You could look at it as we ran out of time or could say we could’ve used a little more time,” Messier said. “Playing five games in 4 1/2 days with a quick turnaround . . . you never want to make excuses but the reality is the schedule certainly didn’t help us.”

Messier came into the tournament with just four games of elite-level coaching under his belt — all accumulated with Canadian teams that went a combined 2-2 at the Swiss Challenge and Deutschland Cup last month.

He was impressed with how his team handled the gruelling Spengler schedule.

“The heads were willing but the body betrays you under those circumstances,” Messier said.

After beating host HC Davos 4-0 in the semifinals Thursday night, Canada was back on the ice against the Russian team at noon local time.

“We picked our spots to be aggressive, we did that well and we were patient when we couldn’t be and tried to turn pucks over in the neutral zone, which we did,” said Messier. “We had our opportunities and I think under different circumstances the outcome is different.”

Every team was given a day off during the preliminary round, but Canada’s came on the opening day of the event. That meant the squad then had to play all its games in consecutive days.

SKA St. Petersburg’s win marks the third straight year a Russian team has captured the title. Canada was making its ninth championship appearance in 11 years and its 12th overall but first since 2007.

The turning point in the game came in the second when Yashin and Afinogenov gave SKA St. Petersburg a two-goal lead after the Canadians had tied it. Yashin’s goal came on a two-man power play with Blaine Down and Mark Popovic in the penalty box, a call Messier said came at a pivotal time in the contest.

“I haven’t seen the replay but that was a tough part of the game,” Messier said. “In a championship game you hate to see those kinds of calls.”

Canada’s Brett McLean cut the Russian squad’s lead to 3-2 with a power-play goal at 18:38 of the third. But captain Maxim Sushinskiy scored his second of the game into the empty net at 18:57 to restore SKA St. Petersburg’s two-goal advantage before Holden rounded out the scoring.

Canada’s Jeff Deslauriers captured the tournament’s top goalie award while Travis Roche was named one of its best defencemen.

SKA St. Petersburg finished the tournament undefeated, winning all four of its games although it had to rally from a 3-0 deficit to beat Geneve-Servette 4-3 in the semifinals Thursday. Canada suffered its only loss to Davos during the preliminary round earlier in the week.

The Spengler Cup, which debuted in 1923, is the world’s oldest pro hockey tournament.

The Canadian Press, 2010

Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2010/12/31/sp-spengler-final.html?ref=rss

OTTAWA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) — Canadian Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said on Thursday that Canada intended to launch updated, larger health warning messages and a toll-free quitline on cigarette and little cigar packages that will be the backbone of a social marketing campaign to encourage smokers to quit.

Key features of the new label requirements include new larger graphic health warnings, a pan-Canadian quitline and web URL, and improved health information messages and toxic emission statements.

The new, larger graphic health warnings will feature new diseases and, for the first time, testimonials from individuals affected by tobacco use. The warnings will cover 75 percent of the front and back of cigarette and little cigar packages, up from the current 50 percent.

Provisional on provincial and territorial agreement, the pan-Canadian quitline and web URL will enable the smokers a seamless connection to provincial and territorial phone cessation support services.

The addition of color and graphics to health information messages will make them more noticeable, while new toxic emission statements will be easier to understand.

Apart from to the labelling changes, Health Canada is developing a social marketing campaign targeting smokers, including young adults. Multimedia, including social networks across the Web, will be used to reach teenagers and young adults.

“The combination of larger health warning messages and social marketing will help the new messages reach as many smokers as possible,” said Aglukkaq.

“Giving Canadians the straight-up goods on the dangers of tobacco use in a more prominent and visible way through larger, more effective tobacco warning labels is a significant step in our ongoing battle to reduce tobacco consumption and, ultimately, cardiovascular disease,” said Irfhan Rawji, chair of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Tobacco use costs the Canadian health care systems 4.4 billion Canadian dollars (about 4.4 billion U.S. dollars) a year in direct costs and continues to kill 37,000 Canadians every year.

Article source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2010-12/31/c_13672063.htm