Hi all: It is Responsible Gambling Month in Ontario (in case you don't know). As a problem gambling researcher, counsellor and activist, I am very frustrated by the use of old data by the Responsible Gambling Council in Ontario which is being fed to the media and repeated like a mantra. I have decided to launch my own response and write a letter to the editor of the newspaper repeating this misinformation (so far I have written LTEs to The Toronto Sun and Windsor Star ... but it is still early in the month!) I am ccing the letters to the Canada Safety Council, Gambling Watch Canada, and Ontario's Ministry of Health Promotion. I now have the email contacts for the new federal Minister of Health (Tony Clement), the Liberal Health critic (Ken Dryden), the NDP Health Critic (Penny Pretty) and BQ Santé (Christiane Gagnon and Nicole Demers) who I will also start to cc. Here is the LTE. Regards, Christine March 4, 2006 Re: "Problem gaming targeted" by Ann Jarvis, The Windsor Star, March 4, 2006. To Whom It May Concern: I am curious and concerned about the estimates of problem gamblers in Ontario quoted in this article. According to the figures quoted it is estimated that ONLY 340,000 Ontario residents have gambling problems. I am wondering why 2001 data is being cited regarding the incidence of problem gambling in Ontario? The estimate of 340,000 problem gamblers is found in a 2001 study "Measuring gambling and problem gambling in Ontario", conducted by Wiebe, Single and Falkowski-Ham and funded by the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre. A more recent study, however, by Williams and Wood, "The demographic sources of Ontario Gaming Revenue,"also funded by the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre and published in 2004 estimates that in 2003 approximately 435,000 Ontario adults exhibited moderate to severe gambling problems. This more recent research indicates a significant change in the numbers of problem gamblers in Ontario: 3.8% in 2001 (Wiebe et al. study) vs. 4.8% in 2003 (Williams et al.). The Williams and Wood report also indicates that 60% of provincial slot machine revenues are being derived from those being harmed by EGM gambling (ie. problem gamblers). The Responsible Gambling Council receives $6 million a year through the Ministry of Health Promotion to provide prevention and awareness regarding problem gambling (incidentally, there is no mention of problem gambling on the Ministry of Health Promotion website). The cost of this most recent media campaign by the Responsible Gambling Council in Ontario is quoted by Windsor Star writer Ann Jarvis as costing tax-payers in Ontario $1.5 million dollars. The numbers appear to significantly minimize the numbers of problem gamblers in Ontario. Even the Williams and Wood data is now out-dated and conservative given the rapid expansion of slots into racinos across Ontario. Why is an organization that is charged with public education around problem gambling prevention and awareness, and funded by the Ontario tax-payers, quoting old data and thereby minimizing the numbers of problem gamblers in Ontario? Sincerely, Christine McKay Ottawa cc: Emile Therien, President, Canada Safety Council Johannes Deviet, Gambling Watch Canada Honourable James Watson, Ministry of Health Promotion (emailed to MoHP 'Contact Us' page) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------- Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the subject header -- to [log in to unmask] SIGNOFF SDOH DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU. To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header. SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname To post a message to all 1000+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask] Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant. For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask] To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to [log in to unmask] SET SDOH DIGEST To view the SDOH archives, go to: https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html