Heather Crowe | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 23, 1945 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Died | May 22, 2006 (aged 61) |
| Occupation(s) | Retired Waitress, Spokesperson for SmokefreeCanada |
| Website | Heather Crowe at smoke-free.ca |
Heather Crowe (April 23, 1945, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia – May 22, 2006, Ottawa, Ontario) was a Canadian waitress who became the public face of Canada's anti-smoking campaign.
Crowe was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002. She said that she had "never smoked a day in her life",[citation needed] and believed her cancer to be the result of regularly breathing second-hand smoke at her workplace, Moe's Newport Restaurant, for over forty years. In 2002, she submitted a successful claim related to second-hand smoke exposure in the workplace to the Ontario Workplace Safety & Insurance Board for lost earnings and health care benefits. Based on her $12,000 salary, WSIB awarded her $200 a week, $4,000 a year to help with medical expenses and a one-time payment of $40,000 for pain and suffering.
Shortly before Christmas, 2003, WSIB ordered the 59-year-old Crowe, still undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy, back to work.[1]
Following Crowe's lobbying campaign, the province of Ontario passed an anti-smoking bill which banned smoking in all indoor public spaces and near the entrances of government buildings. The law came into effect four days after Crowe's death in 2006.[2]