New Canada wide regulations came into effect today that require warning labels to be printed on individual cigarettes.
Slogans like “poison in every puff,” and “cigarettes cause cancer” will be printed on the paper around the filter in English and French.
The rule aims to encourage people to take pause and reflect on their decisions before they light up.
Cigarette producers have until the end of July 2024 to include warnings on individual cigarettes in king-size packs. Regular sized cigarettes and little cigars will have until the end of April 2025 to comply.
Canada is the first country in the world to require written cautions on cigarettes themselves, though it is not the most hard-lined approach to curbing smoking habits.
Mexico imposed a total ban on smoking in public spaces in January, including at beaches, parks, and hotels, it also prohibited the promotion, sponsorship and advertisement of tobacco products.
As of January 2023, in an attempt to eliminate smoking altogether, New Zealand introduced the Smoke Free Environments and Regulated Products (Smoking Tobacco) Amendment Bill, enshrining into law that cigarettes can not be sold to anyone born on or after Jan. 1 2009, meaning the minimum age for buying cigarettes will rise annually until no one can purchase them. It also means anyone under the age of 15 will be banned from buying cigarettes for life.
Government of Canada statistics from 2017 suggest about 48,000 people in the country die from tobacco use each year, and that since 2000, cigarettes have killed more than one million people domestically.
Although there is a downward trend in cigarette smoking, Canadian retailers sold $11.8 billion worth of tobacco products and accessories (except e-cigarettes) in 2022, according to Statistics Canada, meaning the potential to spread mass messaging on the products themselves is huge.
Health Canada says tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of premature death in Canada.
Courtesy: NowToronto (Published on Aug 1st, 2023)
