Warnings on each cigarette, not just packaging, proposed in Canada
Posted June 10, 2022 12:33 pm.
Last Updated June 10, 2022 4:00 pm.
Canada is poised to become the first country in the world to require that a warning be printed on every cigarette.
Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett says the proposed measure is meant to reach more people, including youth who often share cigarettes and don’t encounter the packaging.
A consultation period is set to begin Saturday, lasting 75 days.
To take part, comments can be sent via email to pregs@hc-sc.gc.ca until August 25.
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“Labelling the tipping paper of cigarettes and other tobacco products would make it virtually impossible to avoid health warnings altogether. If implemented, Canada would be the first country in the world to introduce such a requirement,” reads a statement from Health Canada.
The warning labels would be required on individual cigarettes, cigars that have a filter, and cigarette tubes.
Bennett also revealed expanded warnings for cigarette packages that include a longer list of smoking’s health effects. Canada has required the photos since the turn of the millennium, but the images haven’t been updated in a decade.
Previous plain packaging rules were part of a larger strategy aimed at driving the rate of tobacco use among Canadians down to five per cent by 2035.
Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society, notes Canada’s latest move also set a precedent by requiring the photo warnings, with other countries following suit.
