Building a unified plan for nicotine cessation, prevention, and chronic disease reduction
The Lung Health Foundation continues to advance protection from tobacco and vaping related harm through our work with the Ontario Nicotine Action Table (ONAT), a provincial cross-sector committee that brings together diverse partners to support collaboration, knowledge exchange, and coordinated leadership in addressing commercial tobacco and nicotine use.
Through the Ontario Stakeholders Nicotine Action Plan (OSNAP), ONAT helps coordinate prevention, cessation, policy, research, and community action towards the shared goal of reducing the burden of nicotine-related harm for all Ontarians.
Nicotine use remains one of Ontario’s most significant and preventable drivers of chronic disease. While cigarette smoking rates have declined, overall nicotine exposure remains a major public health concern, driven by rising youth vaping rates and the emergence of new nicotine products such as nicotine pouches.
These harms are not experienced equally. Equity deserving communities face higher rates of nicotine addiction, greater exposure to targeted marketing, and more limited access to cessation support. Without coordinated action, the province risks losing momentum toward the national endgame goal of reducing tobacco use to below five percent by 2035.
Convened by the Lung Health Foundation in 2025, the Ontario Nicotine Action Table (ONAT) unites a diverse group of stakeholders working across sectors to address nicotine addiction, one of the province’s most pressing and preventable public health challenges:
This diverse membership ensures that prevention and cessation strategies are informed by research, lived experience, and real-world system knowledge.
“By 2035, Ontario will reduce tobacco use to below 5%, achieving Canada’s Tobacco Endgame objective, and reduce non-therapeutic nicotine use to below five per cent across all age groups in Ontario by 2045 through coordinated prevention, cessation, policy, research and community action.
The Action Plan provides shared direction for partners across Ontario. The next phase of ONAT’s work, beginning in 2026 and continuing through 2027, will focus on strengthening accountability, establishing shared measurement, and supporting sector specific implementation.”
The goal of ONAT is to dramatically reduce nicotine use across Ontario and protect future generations from addiction. As a consensus-driven group, every member has a voice in shaping the direction and outcomes of the work.
Key priorities include:
Together, these long-term milestones provide a shared vision and roadmap for reducing tobacco- and nicotine-related harms while improving access to prevention and cessation supports across the province.
OSNAP recognizes that while Ontario has made significant progress in reducing smoking, emerging nicotine products have changed the landscape and require a broader long-term approach.
The primary output of the Ontario Nicotine Action Table is the Ontario Stakeholder Nicotine Action Plan, Ontario’s shared framework for coordinated action on tobacco and nicotine prevention, cessation, health equity, community leadership, accountability, and system improvement.
The Action Plan was developed through a collaborative and evidence- informed process involving structured planning sessions, targeted consultations, iterative surveys, and consensus-based decision making with partners across the province.
The plan provides a roadmap for collective action and outlines the shared directions needed to strengthen prevention, improve cessation support, and address inequities in nicotine related harms.
If your organization works in nicotine prevention, cessation, youth health, chronic disease prevention, or community wellness,
the Ontario Nicotine Action Table invites you to connect and collaborate.
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Ontario Lung Association is a registered charity operating as the Lung Health Foundation, and is no longer affiliated with the Canadian Lung Association.
