www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday April 25, 2008 - 21 Powerwalls to lose clout C VC VC V Thank You to all of our dedicated volunteers who share their time and talents to enrich all of our school communities! Alice Anne LeMay Chair of the Board Lou Piovesan Director of Education Gillian Tuck Kutarna Chair of the Board Wayne Joudrie Director of Education powerwalls create the illusion that tobacco use is more widespread and "normal" than it really is. They suggest that smoking is socially acceptable. This can lead more youths to give smoking a try. To celebrate the powerwall ban, HCSH and Halton Region's Youth Action Alliance, CRAVE, staged an event with the Oakville Blades. Before the Blades hit the ice for a play-off game on March 23, members of CRAVE took turns shooting at a `powerwall' connected to a hockey net. This symbolic gesture, in front of a crowd 500 at Joshua Creek Arena, reinforced the importance of the message to protect children and youths from the influence of tobacco products. CVCVCVCCVCVCV "MOM, THIS SUMMER I CAN LEARN TO PROGRAM VIDEO GAMES from Pacman for the PC to a 3D Space Combat Simulator for the Xbox" Your 9 to 17 y old g year gamer is already g y good at math but does not work hard at it. S/he may have been telling you that, some day, s/he wants to program video games as a job. RP4K can teach your child or teen REAL PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES such y as Visual Basic, Java, C# or C++. We teach game programming to all levels of kids and g p g g teens. There are never more than 4 students per instructor. You will wish you had this when you were a kid! Summer 2008 is RP4K's 7th summer located at St. Mildred's-Lightb School in Oakville. Schedule a FREE NO OBLIGATION TRIAL CLASS by calling Real Programming 4 KidsTM at 416-469-9676 www.realprogramming.com C VC VC V I n thousands of stores across Ontario, the powerwall is coming down. Powerwalls are the tobacco industry's main way of promoting their products. These colorful retail displays have traditionally been front and centre in stores throughout the province. This will all change as of May 31, 2008, when new legislation banning the displays comes into force. The powerwall ban is the result of proactive steps taken by the Ontario provincial government through the introduction of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. It is also a result of important advocacy efforts by community and youth leaders, including the Halton Council on Smoking or Health (HCSH). On May 31, 2008, World No Tobacco Day, Ontario retailers will be required to remove powerwalls. Ontario is joining other jurisdictions, such as Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Nunavut, which have already banned powerwalls. Since they are so prominent, Research shows that tough anti-tobacco laws and tobacco prices can deter youths from starting to use tobacco products. Community groups such as HCSH play an important role in addressing issues in tobacco control. They work tirelessly to ensure that young people are free of the powerful marketing influence of the tobacco industry that leads to illness, disease and death. The HCSH is funded in part by Choices 4 Health. For more information about Choices 4 Health and its funded programs, visit choices4health.org or call the Choices 4 Health Coordinator at 905-825-6000, ext. 7344. -- Choices 4 Health is one of 37 community partnerships that comprise the Ontario Heart Health Program-Taking Action for Healthy Living. It is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion, community partners and the Halton Region Health Department. The Choices 4 Health Network is a community coalition comprised of more than 250 individuals and organizations working together to promote healthy lifestyles in Halton. CVCVCVCCVCVCV