TORONTO – Canada is poised to become the first country in the world to require a warning on every cigarette.
The move builds on Canada’s mandate to put graphic warnings on tobacco product packaging – a policy that started an international trend when it was introduced two decades ago. .
“We need to address the concern that these messages may lose their novelty and to some extent we are concerned that they may also lose their impact,” said the Minister for Mental Health and Addiction. Carolyn Bennett said at a news conference on Friday.
“Adding a health warning on each tobacco product will help ensure that these essential messages reach everyone, including young people who frequently access tobacco in social situations, regardless of the circumstances. information is printed on the packaging.”
The consultation period for the proposed change will begin on Saturday, and the government anticipates the changes will come into force in the second half of 2023.
While the exact message printed on cigarettes may vary, Bennett said the current recommendation is: “Toxic in every puff.”
Bennett also revealed expanded warnings for cigarette packs that cover a longer list of the harmful effects of smoking on health, including stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes and peripheral vascular disease.
Canada has required visual warnings since the turn of the millennium, but the images have not been updated in a decade.
Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society, said he hopes the warnings printed directly on cigarettes will become widespread around the world, just as the warnings on the packaging have done. .
“This will set a world precedent,” Cunningham said, adding that no other country has implemented such regulations. He hopes that the warning will make a real difference.
“It’s a warning you can’t ignore,” Cunningham said. “It will reach every smoker, with every smoke.”
The move also drew praise from Geoffrey Fong, a professor at the University of Waterloo and principal investigator of the International Tobacco Control Policy Review Project.
“This is a really powerful intervention to enhance the impact of health warnings,” says Fong.
Smoking rates have been steadily decreasing over the years. The latest data from Statistics Canada, released last month, shows that 10% of Canadians report smoking regularly. The government is looking to cut that rate in half by 2035.
StatCan notes that about 11% of Canadians aged 20 and older report currently smoking, compared with just 4% of 15 to 19 year olds.
