The facts • At least 50 per cent of cancers can be prevented through healthy living and policies that protect the public. • Prevention, or risk reduction, means taking action to reduce our individual risk of developing cancer. • While risk can be increased or decreased by the lifestyle choices we make or the kind of environment we live and work in, even a person at low risk may get cancer, just as a person at high risk may not. What we’re doing to help prevent cancer Advocating to protect Canadians • The Canadian Cancer Society advocates relentlessly for bans on cosmetic use of pesticides. About 135 communities across Canada and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec have banned the use of pesticides on lawns and gardens. The Society has contributed to many of these successes. • The CCS has also lobbied to have legislation passed that would better control or limit access to tobacco and that would ensure that citizens, especially teens and kids, are not exposed to second-hand smoke. The CCS has also pressured decision- makers to take prompt action against contraband tobacco. Through the CCS, over 1,665 letters were sent to Quebec MPs to sensitize them to the fact that the CCS and its volunteers are concerned about the growing phenomenon of contraband tobacco and the huge threat it poses to tobacco control and to public health. Because of their low price, contraband tobacco products encourage people, including teens, to start smoking and make it harder for smokers to quit. • In the past year, the Quebec Division of the CCS has lobbied the government to set up a province-wide colorectal cancer screening program. • The Society believes people have the right to know if they are being exposed to substances that cause cancer. We strongly support the move to include a list of ingredients on all consumer products and advocate when appropriate. In addition, we believe it’s important that an easily recognizable symbol be used on products containing cancer-causing agents…

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