Youth Engagement

Health Canada's Youth Action Committee (YAC), formerly the Youth Advisory Committee, was formed in 1999 to give advice about anti-tobacco programs targeted to youth and to provide ways to reach a young audience. A new component, which was added in 2010, the Young-Adult Leadership Team (YLT), will provide an opportunity for members to provide insight into the unique challenges of reaching and designing tobacco-related messaging for the young adult audience. YAC and YLT recruits from across the nation participate in and inform the development of Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS) programs and activities.

The objectives of the YAC/YLT are to:

• enhance the capacity of the FTCS to engage youth and young adults in tobacco control initiatives;
• provide opportunities for youth and young adults to engage with the federal government;
• enable youth and young adults to develop knowledge and skills;
• and build leadership capacity for youth and young adults.

The YAC comprises a team of individuals aged 14-18 and the Young-Adult Leadership Team (YLT) comprises individuals aged 19-24 from across Canada, reflecting the diversity of Canadian society; males and female; Francophones and Anglophones; Inuit; First Nation; Metis; persons with disabilities; first generation Canadians, and a mix of smokers, former smokers and non-smokers.