caption death_place death_date birth_place article_title name
barb tarbox on a canadian cigarette box . edmonton , alberta 18 may 2003 edmonton , alberta barb tarbox
 barb tarbox
barb tarbox

barb tarbox , msm -lrb- april 10 , 1961 -- may 18 , 2003 -rrb- was one of the most well-known anti-smoking activists in canada ; a lifelong smoker dying of brain and lung cancers whose very open and frank discussions of her illness , its cause and its consequences , propelled her to the canadian national stage .
in high school , between the ages of 14 and 16 , she was a model for fashion companies and joined many sports in her school .
she wanted to be popular , and being a model was not enough ; so she then became a smoker .
during the last months of tarbox 's life she went around canada teaching young adults the consequences of smoking .
perhaps most memorably , she emphasized how she was unable to quit smoking even after she found out that she had cancer .
tarbox died at a hospital in edmonton on may 18 , 2003 at the age of 42 from brain cancer and lung cancer .
on december 5 , 2003 , barb tarbox was posthumously awarded the meritorious service medal by her excellency , the right honourable adrienne clarkson , governor general of canada , for devotion to the anti-smoking cause .
the decoration was accepted in ottawa by her daughter , mackenzie .
on december 30 , 2010 , the government of canada unveiled tougher anti-smoking images on their cigarette packaging including two images that feature barb tarbox during her last days .
