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Second-hand smoke kills, Ottawa woman says

Lung cancer sufferer encourages anti-smoking legislation

Heather Crowe was surprised to learn of Nunavut’s high rates of lung disease in babies and children.

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(PHOTO BY KIRSTEN MURPHY)

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KIRSTEN MURPHY

Heather Crowe’s blue eyes and rosy cheeks belie the cancerous growth overtaking her lungs.

"It looks like an egg dropped on a frying pan," said the soft-spoken, 57-year-old grandmother.

Crowe was at Iqaluit’s Inuksuk High School on March 11 to talk about the perils of second-hand smoke.

A non-smoker, Crowe was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer last year. Her death sentence follows 40 years of working in restaurants and bars. The Ottawa resident never smoked a cigarette in her life. She never lived with smokers.

Crowe chose a career in the service industry because it allowed the single mother time with her daughter.

Now, the insidious cancer cells have robbed her of such simple activities as swimming laps and raking leaves.

"No one ever told me I’d be injured from second-hand smoke," she said.

In 2002, the same year she was diagnosed, Crowe was awarded $40,000 by the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. The board accepted her claim that a lifelong occupational exposure to second-hand smoke caused her cancer.

To prevent similar tragedies, Crowe partnered with Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and embarked on a cross-country speaking tour. Her health permitting, Crowe will visit all 13 province and territories.

"My goal is to get equal rights for all the waitresses, bartenders and serving staff. I want to be the last person to die from second-hand smoke at work," she said.

Her mission is to push politicians into adopting smoking legislation to protect all workers — even those employed at bars, a sacred haven for smokers.

The City of Iqaluit passed a non-smoking bylaw this month that bans smoking in restaurants and government buildings but not bars. Crowe hopes her visit prompts the city to designate such establishments as no-smoking zones.

Thirty minutes into Crowe’s heartfelt account, an overzealous heath department employee planted herself in the crowd and offered a simplistic outlook on Nunavut’s high smoking rates. The young bureaucrat went on to prompt Health Minister Ed Picco, seated at the table with Crowe, who happily praised his department’s anti-smoking initiatives.

The diversion had a silver lining.

"Any discussion is good. Health ministers play a very important role in all this," Crowe said.

Crowe’s public appearance about her private struggle is an unusual step for a women who has never marched or protested.

"I was furious when I was diagnosed. You either crawl up in a ball and get depressed or you do something about it. I decided to do something about it," she said.

Crowe holds no ill will against the hundreds of thousands of people who lit up while she slung breakfast and beer. Instead, she blames tobacco companies.

"They’re the ones who put tobacco on the market and lace it with addictive poison. They’ve been hiding for a long time and it’s time someone stands up to them," she said.

Crowe’s presentation touched many of the youths who attended the meeting.

"I’m really happy she came up and opened our eyes," said Clarissa Koblogina of Cambridge Bay. Koblogina, 15, started smoking two years ago.

"I never want to go through what she’s going through. I want to try and do something to help," she said. "And I really want to quit now."

Whale Cove youth Pamela Arualak already has a plan of action.

"I’m going to tell my mother if she loves me she’ll quit smoking," Arualak said.

Picco said he plans to introduce a tobacco control bill within the next few weeks. He added the bill will reflect some of the strictest non-smoking legislation in Canada.

"It’s not about infringing on people’s rights," Picco said of the anticipated opposition.

"It’s about protecting workers."

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