Northern Ontario health unit looks to Iceland for ways to reduce substance use in youth

The Porcupine Health Unit in Timmins, Ont., is looking at ways to lower vaping, alcohol and cannabis consumption among youth — and it's turning to lessons learned in Iceland over the past 20 years.

The Icelandic Model, was first developed in the late 1990s and has had a dramatic impact on youth substance use rates in that country.

"So our substance use rates in the north are higher than the provincial average," said Kaidan Hardy, a health promoter with the health unit.

"So we've been looking at tackling youth substance use prevention for a while."

A study published in the Health Promotion Practice journal found that in 1999, 56 per cent of Grade 10 students in Iceland admitted to smoking tobacco at least once, and the same percentage had also been drunk at least once in the past year.

By 2015, 16 per cent of Grade 10 students in Iceland said they had smoked tobacco and nine per cent had gotten drunk at least once in the past year.

Hardy said the model encourages community stakeholders and parents to work together to keep young people away from drugs and alcohol.

"They kind of introduced this concept of parent cafes where it's an opportunity for parents to get together. It's a physically and emotionally safe space where they can talk and learn from each other about the challenges and the victories of raising a family," she said.

The model also had parents sign pledges not to allow unsupervised parties, not to supply alcohol to minors and to engage in the well-being of other children.

"And then they increased funding for organized sport, music, art, dance and other clubs," Hardy said.

What worked in Iceland might not work here.- Kaidan Hardy, health promoter, Porcupine Health Unit

The model has been so successful that Iceland has exported the program around the world, including to Kentucky and parts of Canada, including Calgary and Saint John, N.B.

Hardy said the health unit is in talks with an organization based in Iceland called Planet Youth that helps communities around the world implement the model.

They help municipalities collect data on drug and alcohol use among youth and then build prevention plans tailored for each region.

"What worked in Iceland might not work here," Hardy said.

She said the Timiskaming Health Unit and the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit are also considering bringing the model to their regions.

If the health unit chooses to apply the model, Hardy said it costs US$31,000 per year for five years to work with Planet Youth in implementing the model.