The members and staff of the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association send our sincere sympathy to CBC radio host Andy Barrie and his family upon the passing of his wife, Mary Cone Barrie. We wish them well as they mourn their loss.

We at the NSRA were completely surprised by the family’s request in the obituary for Mary published in The Globe and Mail February 20th, that donations in lieu of flowers be made to our Association (the obituary follows). We were very moved that the family would honour the efforts of our modest Association with such a generous and supportive gesture.

Because of the implicit endorsement of our work contained in that touching obituary, as an expression of our appreciation, we thought it might be supportive if we explained what may lie behind the request for support of the NSRA. While we were surprised by the request that gifts be directed our way, we were not surprised by the family’s understanding that the tobacco industry played a significant role in Mary’s addiction, illness and death. Andy Barrie was well aware of our ongoing efforts to educate Canadians about the tobacco industry behaviour behind the development and expansion of the tobacco epidemic.

We are certain that he knew that, for years, we have worked hard to persuade Canadian health interests and the public of the need to shift responsibility for the epidemic away from individual behaviour and individual responsibility toward predatory industry marketing and corporate irresponsibility. Most of the victims of tobacco industry products today were addicted as teens, in Mary’s case at age 14, well before the age of responsibility. Secret industry documents now on the public record as a result of litigation show that, at the time Mary became addicted, the industry was lying about the risks of its products, about addiction, nicotine manipulation, ‘light’ and ‘mild’ cigarettes and the targeting of kids. The consumer fraud involved lies behind the lawsuits that several provinces have initiated against the industry. (There were no meaningful warnings on cigarette packages until 1989 and no warning of addiction until 1994.)

The addiction experienced by many smokers, not all, is so fierce that many are unable to leave the cigarette behind. And industry documents show that tobacco manufacturers were well aware of the ferocity of that addiction for thousands of its customers.

A staggering 37,000 Canadians die each year at the hands of tobacco industry products. At the same time, tens of thousands of families are torn apart. We believe justice demands that the industry must be held responsible for its misbehaviour, both civil and criminal. And the NSRA has led aggressive campaigns to achieve this goal. We believe this is the best way that we can honour the memory of Mary and, tragically, thousands like her.

If you would like to read more about the behaviour that we suspect may lie behind the Barrie family’s support of an aggressive response to the industry, read the NSRA report Tobacco Industry Denormalization: Telling the truth about the tobacco industry’s role in the tobacco epidemic by Garfield Mahood at http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/cms/file/pdf/Denormalization_English_Booklet.pdf.


Click here to read the Mary Cone Barrie obituary.

Should you wish to send a gift to the NSRA or its supportive Foundation in lieu of flowers in Mary's memory, click here.