LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

UNTAPPED RESOURCE

Re: Sask. leads country in percentage of smokers ( SP, June 13). As a practising pharmacist, I believe that one of the barriers to Saskatchewan residents quitting smoking is lack of awareness of available resources.

The Partnership to Assist with Cessation of Tobacco (PACT) program, which is funded by Saskatchewan Health, offers up to 90 minutes of individualized counselling by a health care professional on smoking cessation, as well as followup for one year afterward. This service is available at many pharmacies throughout the province, at no cost to the patient.

Additionally, the Saskatchewan Formulary has added cessation medications, such as Champix, in recent years. This means that these medications are a benefit for patients whose prescription costs are covered by Sask. Health, such as seniors and low-income families.

While not every person requires cessation counselling or medication to successfully quit smoking, I believe that these resources are underused and have great potential to decrease our provincial smoking rates. Sarah J. Witzel Saskatoon

NOT A PRETTY SIGHT

As an older person grappling with computer technology, it’s amazing and frustrating at times.

I’m told that what I do on the Internet is being watched. Wow! Someone is interested in cat and dog pictures, and worse, my selfies.

Privacy issues are really being raked over the coals everywhere. For example, Revenue Canada, health regions, SGI, Google, Facebook even big telecom (SaskTel) suppliers have all have had to answer questions about privacy. So here are some indications that your privacy may have been invaded in Saskatchewan:

▪ The City of Saskatoon posts your job performance review on Facebook, and it has a “Like” button.

▪ You get a text from the health region telling you that the red tie makes you look healthier with that outfit.

▪ SGI sends you a new picture of yourself for your licence, as seen through Google Street View.

▪ When you say your online status is “going to bed,” the street lights outside your window go out.

▪ Your bank statement arrives in a Revenue Canada envelope.

▪ You get phone bills from SaskTel and SaskTel Mobility, and also included is a free download of the song Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You courtesy of CISIS/police services.

As they say, “Big Brother is watching.” So be careful out there. To all of you watching: Hey, get off my lawn. Bryan Cox Saskatoon

JOIN 21ST CENTURY

Re: Smart meters poised to read utilities (SP, June 17). A good idea, but it doesn’t go far enough, as has been the case with management of all the city’s utilities and waste management.

While the director of Saskatoon Light & Power blithely states that Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) would “help residents manage their electricity and water use and detect unusual consumption patterns which could impact their bill,” he provides no clue as to how that information might be shared with customers.

But most significant, unlike other jurisdictions, there is no intention to use AMI to directly benefit the consumer through differential pricing, either now or in the foreseeable future.

In comparison, for example, Ontario Hydro provides for its smart meter customers time-of-use pricing: on-peak, mid-peak (17 per cent less) and off-peak (44 per cent less), thus allowing the customer to decide how to carry on daily activities most economically. (www.ontario-hydro.com/index.php? page=current_rates).

It’s time that the city and the province got on the 21stcentury bandwagon. John Delack Saskatoon

BIASED RESEARCH

Re: U of R begins pesticide research study (SP, June 16). Teacher Heather Hanes is wrong about the research project at the University of Regina. They don’t have a hypothesis. They have an agenda.

Prof. Tanya Dahms admits that the goal is to eliminate pesticides. Her tone implies that researchers are simply going through the motions to gather evidence of what they already assume to be true. A real scientific inquiry would ask, “How does pesticide use affect plant populations in a grass lawn?”

It is possible that killing dandelions and other noxious weeds allows non-weed species to flourish. No one can know until the study is complete. And even then, they might have no useful answer since two test plots is a tiny trial, and the researchers are obviously biased. Michele Rajput Saskatoon