Both the building and surrounding grounds of the BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Centre and Vancouver Island Centre are now smoke-free since March 1st 2008. This means that staff, patients, and visitors are not permitted to smoke on these sites. All BC Cancer Agency regional centres are currently smoke free, but the remaining centres' surrounding grounds will also become smoke-free in conjunction with their host health authorities later in 2008. We encourage you to take advantage of the many resources that exist for people who wish to reduce or quit smoking. Please see our recommended links on Smoking and Tobacco, or visit the Tobacco pages in our Prevention section.
For more information, including a copy of the official policy, please see the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA)’s Smoke-Free Grounds page. If you have questions about the policy, please e-mail us at smokefree@phsa.ca.
QuitNow is a smoking cessation program funded by the BC Ministry of Health and operated by the BC Lung Association. Access the QuitNow referral form 
Why are we smoke-free?
As health care providers, it is essential that PHSA and BC Cancer Agency take a leading role in protecting anyone who comes to our sites from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.
Tobacco-related illnesses are the leading cause of preventable death in B.C., resulting in about 6,000 deaths each year, including over 100 non-smokers.
Thousands more British Columbians become sick from either tobacco use or second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke causes the same diseases as smoking, including heart and lung disease, and cancers of the lung, bladder, blood, kidney and nasal passages.