Access Project

The Youth Voices Research Group has been awarded a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion to explore the interconnection between the availability of cigarettes and access to smoking cessation treatment in Ontario.


The ACCESS PROJECT will connect youth using social media tools and technologies in order to learn more about the relationship between access to cheap (and illegal) cigarettes and prevalence in Ontario. Informed by best practices in youth engagement and community development, the Access Project was carried out February to May 2010 as a short-term youth consultation, leveraging the expertise, talents, and lived experiences of young people affected by tobacco issues in their local communities. By working in three sites across the province – an urban centre, a rural location and a Northern location in the province of Ontario - the Project built a knowledge base around tobacco issues using text, still and moving images, and group consultations. Data gathered will be disseminated among youth, tobacco control professionals, and decision-makers with the goal of providing evidence-based research to inform tobacco-related policy.


The Project’s focus was three-fold:

1. ACCESS to cheap contraband cigarettes
2. ACCESS to smoking cessation and treatment options
3. The relationship between access to contraband cigarettes and smoking prevalence

The Project can be separated into three main phases:

Phase 1: Youth Photography and Film
In February and March 12 young people ages 14 to 24 across Ontario were engaged as Youth Research Consultants (YRCs) on the Access Project. YRCs were given media training and asked to capture stories around youth tobacco use and access within their local communities. 67 media projects, consisting of a photograph or video and written description were completed. Youth Media Consultants from Regent Park Focus produced a video compilation of YRC projects:

NING, a virtual social network, was the primary communications platform for the Phase 1 - this enabled participants to create personal profiles, blog about their experiences, share and gain feedback about their projects, and engage with YRCs from all sites. YRCs and Youth Voices Research Group (YVRG) coordinators maintained a continuous dialogue both off and online through face-to-face meetings, text messaging and other social media tools such as Facebook and Skype.

Phase 2: Youth Unconferences
Phase II of the ACCESS Project utilized an unconference model to provide 51 young adults from across Ontario with an opportunity to share their individual experiences around the issues of access to cheap contraband cigarettes and access to smoking cessation and treatment options. Unconferences were held at project sites. Participants self-organized, defined their own agenda and openly discussed their families’ and communities’ realities around tobacco issues. One unconference was hosted by the national Town Youth Participation Strategies (T.Y.P.S.) conference in Ottawa. YVRGs presence at T.Y.P.S. allowed for informal dialogue with over 300 youths from across Ontario - with 21 youths participating directly in the unconference session. Young people from all three unconferences identified key smoking themes and produced honest and innovative recommendations and questions geared to policy-makers.

Phase 3: Key-informant interviews
As a complement to the youth voice expressed in phase 1 and 2 of the Access Project, interviews were conducted with key informants working in the area of youth tobacco control for phase 3. Informants were invited to share an “adult” perspective regarding youth access to contraband cigarettes and smoking cessation and quitting options in Ontario. Interviewees were representative members of tobacco advocacy groups, public health units and organizations, and academic and research groups.

Project Documents
YVRG is currently analyzing the project findings from all three phases of the Access Project which will be made available as a final report.

Check out the Photovoice and Videovoice media projects the Youth Research Consultants developed for the Access Project below. Included are screen captures from the Project NING website and Facebook pages.

Questions or Comments? Contact us!
Jill Charnaw-Burger
Access Project, Project Coordinator
jill.charnaw.burger [at] utoronto.ca