A new set of Health Canada regulations requiring warning labels on each cigarette will go into effect on Tuesday.
The decision, announced earlier this year, makes Canada the first country in the world to take this step in an ongoing effort to help smokers quit and deter those who will. comment.
The wording of each cigarette, written in English and French on the paper around the filter, includes warnings about harm to children and damage to organs that can lead to impotence and leukemia . One warning: “Poison in every breath”.
Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society, predicts that the labels will discourage teenagers’ predisposition to drug addiction and motivate nicotine-addicted parents to find ways to combat it. Jean-Yves Duclos, then Minister of Health, said smoking remains one of the most important public health problems in Canada and one of the leading causes of illness and premature death. in this country.
Tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship are banned in Canada, and health warnings on cigarette packages have been around since 1972.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, more than 130 countries have followed suit.
In 2001, Canada became the first country to require tobacco companies to print graphic warnings on the outside of cigarette packages with a health promotion message.
Tobacco sponsors oppose promoting stronger messages, including the last step. Large cigarettes will be alerted first and will go on sale in stores by the end of July 2024, followed by large cigarettes, cigars and paper pipes by the end of April 2025.
The Canadian Cancer Society and other lobbying groups are calling for a comprehensive strategy of stronger taxes, laws and programs to reduce smoking rates. Health Canada’s goal is to reduce the population aged 15 and over to less than 5% by 2035.
