Bill C-32 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Tobacco Act

This enactment amends the Tobacco Act to provide additional protection for youth from tobacco marketing. It repeals the exception that permits tobacco advertising in publications with an adult readership of not less than 85%. It prohibits the packaging, importation for sale, distribution and sale of little cigars and blunt wraps unless they are in a package that contains at least 20 little cigars or blunt wraps. It also prohibits the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, little cigars and blunt wraps that contain the additives set out in a new schedule to that Act, as well as the packaging of those products in a manner that suggests that they contain a prohibited additive. It also prohibits the manufacture and sale of tobacco products unless all of the required information about their composition is submitted to the Minister.

[Rob Cunningham]

Our organization is involved in various education campaigns, smoking cessation programs.

The federal government is to be commended for Bill C-32 with respect to flavours, and for introducing the new picture-based health warnings that have a toll-free quit line. These are very significant measures, by national comparison.

With respect to flavoured tobacco, some new products have since been put on the market, and we would certainly support a government going further to ban all flavoured tobacco products and follow the models of Ontario and Alberta.

There's a series of other measures that could be implemented as part of a comprehensive federal tobacco control strategy. Among those is plain packaging. It was introduced in Australia and was very encouraging.

There's a series of further measures, in terms of a strategy that could be implemented.

Tobacco Act

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-438, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act (smokeless tobacco and little cigars).

Mr. Speaker, two and a half years ago members of this place passed Bill C-32. That bill was intended to ban flavoured cigarillos because the evidence was clear that young Canadians were consuming these products as a stepping stone to using non-flavoured tobacco products. But Bill C-32 contained a giant loophole that has allowed flavoured cigarillos in a modified form to continue to be sold, something the government has been aware of since the summer of 2010 but failed to take action to correct.

Sadly, the government has also not fulfilled its 2010 promise to ban all forms of flavoured smokeless tobacco, like flavoured chew, in recognition that those products are used disproportionately by Canada's youth.

This lack of action means that I am here again to re-table my bill, which would amend the Tobacco Act to correct both of these issues.

I am honoured that the member for Beaches—East York has stepped up to second the bill.

I urge the government to listen to the experts working on the front lines to protect the health of Canada's youth and adopt the bill as soon as possible.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Dr. Mike Sharma, Expert Representative, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada]

Madam Chair, committee members, on behalf of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to share our perspectives on chronic diseases related to aging. I'm Mike Sharma and I'm here as an expert representative of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I'm a stroke neurologist and researcher, as well as a deputy director, clinical affairs, of the Canadian Stroke Network. Joining me is Manuel Arango, director of health policy at the foundation.

First and foremost, I'd like to express our gratitude to Parliament for a number of initiatives and commitments that will help reduce the impact of heart disease and stroke in Canada, including the recent adoption of new and improved tobacco package warnings, Bill C-32, which prohibits the use of certain flavourings in tobacco products and associated marketing; the commitment to implement defibrillators in hockey arenas across the country; and the commitment to include cardiovascular measures within the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer's longitudinal study of chronic disease known as the “Tomorrow Project”.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is a national volunteer-based health charity founded over 50 years ago, with more than 130,000 volunteers and two million donors. We work to reduce heart disease and stroke by funding research, promoting healthy living to Canadians, and by working with all levels of government to inform and influence health policy.

We're aging. Every day 1,000 people in Canada turn 65, entering a stage of life with an increasing risk of stroke, heart disease, and dementia. The number of seniors in Canada is projected to increase from 4.2 million to 9.8 million between 2005 and 2036. Heart disease and stroke combined are the leading causes of death among Canadians 65 years of age and over, killing over 60,000 seniors annually. There are over 50,000 hospital admissions for stroke in Canada each year. That's one stroke every ten minutes. When you take into account that we don't hospitalize all strokes, the reality is that the number is much greater.

Those strokes that are hospitalized are called overt strokes, which produce acute traumatic symptoms. In addition to this, there are between five and ten times as many covert strokes. These are ones that do not produce acute manifestations but result in disability by other mechanisms. At a minimum, 300,000 Canadians are living with the effects of stroke today.

In view of the time constraints, we've chosen to focus on three main themes: stroke, aging, and economics; vascular disease of the brain and dementia; and, briefly, heart disease and aging.

In Canada, stroke is the leading cause of death and disability, costing $56,000 for the first six months of care alone. Estimated yearly costs are in excess of $5 billion. While 35% of individuals impacted by stroke are under the age of 65, age is the single strongest predictor of stroke occurrence. Stroke occurrence begins to rise at the age of 55, and doubles for each decade thereafter. Stroke results in physical, cognitive, and psychiatric dysfunction. Individuals have an impairment in their ability to make decisions, use language, think, and remember. Thirty percent are depressed at three months. Between one-third and two-thirds require rehabilitation for physical, cognitive, or communication difficulties. Fewer than 50% of individuals with stroke return to work, placing an additional burden on their caregivers and families.

In contrast to overt or large strokes, covert strokes cause functional impairment without producing overt symptoms or abrupt onset symptoms. We know that 95% of people age 65 and older show abnormalities in the brain related to disease of small blood vessels within the brain. Further, a quarter of healthy seniors aged 70 have evidence of small, silent strokes. Similar strokes are seen in 14% of Canadians aged 60. These small, silent strokes result in dementia, which in fact is a vascular disease.

Alzheimer's disease, which is often thought to be synonymous with dementia, rarely occurs alone. The vast majority of dementia consists of a combination of Alzheimer's disease and stroke, which goes by the term “mixed dementia”. By 2038, the number of Canadians with dementia will increase by a factor of 2.3, with regard to the 2008 level, which is to say, 1.1 million people. The lifetime risk for stroke or dementia in our country is one in two for women and one in three for men.

The increasing rate of obesity and diabetes, combined with aging of the population, will contribute to an increase in all forms of heart disease, including ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and cardiac arrhythmias. This will strain the health care system and have a major economic impact on the country. As an example, it is estimated that currently there are 500,000 Canadians living with heart failure and 50,000 new patients are diagnosed each year.

What can we do?

There are some changes to the health care system that will help. The Heart and Stroke Foundation is very proud to be part of the joint initiative known as the Canadian stroke strategy, a national initiative that is aimed at improving stroke care across Canada. The strategy has targeted the systematic implementation of best practices, thereby preventing stroke, minimizing damage when it occurs, and improving functional recovery.

In the upcoming health accord the federal government needs to ensure adequate transfer payments to the provinces in order to enable incorporation of the best practices from the Canadian stroke strategy, including the establishment of dedicated stroke units and improved rehabilitation and palliative care services for those living with chronic diseases.

Prevention is key. Prevention can help delay and compress chronic diseases in later life, saving money to the system and the economy and improving the quality of life. Prevention essentially is all about making the healthy choice the easy choice, creating environments that make it easy to live a healthy lifestyle.

Prevention of vascular disease requires addressing a number of risk factors, many of which can also contribute to cancer, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic illnesses. At a high level, prevention includes a healthy diet, physical activity, and avoidance of tobacco.

There are a number of potential measures to address these risk factors, but here are a few we believe we must act on now.

The brain and the heart are the primary targets of high blood pressure. High blood pressure can be prevented by healthy nutrition, especially by reductions in sodium consumption, and increased physical acitivity.

With respect to sodium consumption, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada urges the federal government to act upon the recommendations of the sodium working group, who released their final report last July. In particular, we call upon the government to establish sodium reduction targets for the food industry, with an accompanying monitoring mechanism. These targets should reduce the average daily intake of salt to 2,300 miligrams by 2016. If these voluntary targets fail to produce desired outcomes, we support the implementation of regulations.

Reduction in trans-fat content in our diet is important. Trans-fat content in Canadian diets is much higher than international recommendations. We call upon the government to introduce trans-fat regulations.

Fruit and vegetable consumption is too low in this country and is getting more and more expensive for seniors living on limited budgets. The federal government should ensure that agricultural policy and subsidies facilitate the production and distribution of fresh, affordable fruit and vegetables.

Community design and infrastructure that supports active living is particularly important for older people who have conditions that make mobility more challenging. Appealing, accessible, and safe facilities for walking and cycling will make it easier for Canadians of all ages to enjoy physical activity. Also important is the provision of safe and attractive recreational facilities and parks.

We call upon the federal government to work with the provinces to establish an active transportation fund to provide long-term funding for municipal infrastructure that supports active transportation. We also urge the federal government to renew the very successful Canadian recreational infrastructure fund to ensure continued investment in recreational facilities and parks.

Tobacco is a hugely important risk factor. Smokers have strokes ten years earlier than non-smokers. It is critical that the government renew the federal tobacco control strategy and maintain the annual funding for this strategy at no less than its current funding level of $43 million per annum.

Acute treatment for strokes substantially reduces disability, but must be delivered very rapidly after stroke onset. The most common reason that these treatments are not delivered is delay. We urge the government to support public awareness campaigns that teach people to recognize the signs of stroke and respond appropriately.

Madam Chair, acting on these recommendations will help to reduce the impact of chronic diseases on our aging population and our economy.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide our perspective today before your committee.

[Rob Cunningham]

Bill C-32, which was studied by this committee and passed by Parliament, prohibits flavoured little cigars. Prior to the passing of the bill, we noticed a strong increase in the sales of cigarillos in chocolate, mint, peach, vanilla and raspberry flavours, which were very popular among young people. That's unbelievable considering that it's a harmful and addictive product.

That excellent bill, introduced by the Minister of Health, Ms. Aglukkaq, was supported by all the parties. Under the regulations, the new warnings will apply to little cigars, as set out in Bill C-32—and that is a good thing—even if they aren't flavoured.

In addition, I want to remind you that a Senate committee studied this bill and heard from witnesses who said that, if the bill were passed, the Rothmans, Benson & Hedges plant in Quebec would have to close. The bill was passed, and the plant is still open. So, the sky did not fall. We always hear about how the sky will fall.

Regarding the Shorr Packaging case Mr. Haslam just mentioned, it was well after 2000, when regulations on the new packaging were made.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Thank you.

I have a question that I think will go to Mr. Glover. At this committee on December 2, the Minister of Health said that she and her department were aware of the loophole in former Bill C-32 concerning cigarillos, and said that she'd be looking into solving this problem. I'm wondering what has happened on that.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-631, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act (smokeless tobacco and little cigars).

Mr. Speaker, health experts agree that flavoured tobacco products are consumed by young Canadians as a stepping stone to consuming non-flavoured tobacco products. By banning flavoured tobaccos, we will help reduce smoking rates in Canada.

Bill C-32, which amended the Tobacco Act and came into force in October 2009, was supposed to ban flavoured cigarillos. However, we learned last year that tobacco manufacturers found a loophole in the definitions that allowed them to continue selling flavoured cigarillos.

The bill I am tabling today would close that loophole. The bill would also ban all forms of flavoured smokeless tobacco, something that government officials promised to do by June 2010. They did not fulfill that promise and this bill would fill that legislative gap.

I would like to thank my New Democrat health critic predecessor, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, for her significant efforts to have flavoured tobacco banned in Canada and the work that led to the passage of Bill C-32. While she is no longer a member of Parliament, her legacy of good work remains a testament to her time in office.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst, Canadian Cancer Society]

Regarding tobacco control, I'd like to begin by expressing support and congratulations for two very important measures that have been brought forward: Bill C-32 on flavoured tobacco and the new, enhanced picture warnings for cigarette packages. Both of these measures show world leadership. The Minister of Health, all political parties, and members of this committee deserve praise and thanks.

For this committee's current study on healthy living, and as part of achieving broader healthy living objectives, I simply want to underline the ongoing crucial importance of tobacco control.

Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of disease and death in Canada.

Le tabac tue. Tobacco kills 37,000 each year.

We've made clear progress in reducing smoking, but an enormous amount of work remains to be done. Fully 18% of Canadians and 13% of youth aged 15 to 19 were current smokers in 2009.

The 10-year-old tobacco control strategy announced in 2001 expires very soon, March 31, 2011. It is essential that this strategy be continued. We need, as always, an approach to tobacco control that is comprehensive in nature. Within Health Canada's comprehensive strategy, the programming component is vital. The minister has referred to $15.7 million in funded cessation, youth prevention, and other initiatives. These should continue; we cannot let up. And new initiatives must be pursued, such as the very commendable social media campaign that will be linked to package warnings. Ensuring that the federal strategy is continued without any gap would ensure that the preparatory work for the social media campaign as well as many other initiatives would be carried out in full without interruption.

Given high aboriginal smoking rates, including 59% for first nations individuals on reserves, additional aboriginal initiatives of course are needed.

In closing, tobacco control remains pivotal for what we will achieve in the years ahead in terms of overall healthy living for Canadians.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.

[Linda Piazza, Director, Research and Health Policy, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members.

I'm Linda Piazza, the director of research and health policy at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. On behalf of the foundation, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share our perspective on what we need to do as a society to make healthy living the easy choice for Canadians.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is a national, volunteer-based health charity. We've worked for over 50 years to prevent heart disease and stroke by funding cardiovascular research, promoting healthy living to Canadians, and working with all levels of government to influence heart-healthy policies for Canadians.

Our cause is urgent. Heart disease and stroke cost Canada $20.9 billion annually in health care costs and lost productivity. They represent the number one cause of death among women, of drug prescriptions, and of hospital admissions in Canada.

Heart disease and stroke share many of the same risk factors as other chronic diseases, including unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, and smoking. The following are some of the measures that we need to address now, within a comprehensive approach.

The consumption of sodium is far too high in this country. Adult Canadians consume about 3,500 milligrams a day, far above the recommended adequate level for most adults of about 1,500 milligrams a day. Excess sodium consumption leads to high blood pressure, which is the most significant risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

We urge the government to implement the recommendations of the federally appointed sodium working group. In particular, it is critical that the federal government implement, in a transparent way, a process to monitor sodium levels in our food supply as soon as possible.

Secondly, on nutrition tax policies, with respect to sugar-sweetened beverages, Health Canada, in its current children's health and safety campaign, as you've just heard, has correctly highlighted the link between the over-consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and childhood obesity. Like trans fats, sugar-sweetened beverages have no nutritional value whatsoever--only health risks.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation commissioned a scoping review that we presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress in October. It looked at the effectiveness of economic policies to address health and obesity. The report recommended that it was time to move on the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages. We call on the federal government to seriously explore this initiative.

We need to develop communities that make it easy to be physically active. The federal government can play a role by ensuring that a percentage of transportation infrastructure funding is set aside for active transportation initiatives and also by renewing the successful recreational infrastructure Canada fund.

Trans fats are responsible for thousands of cardiac deaths every year in Canada. Like sugar-sweetened beverages, trans fats have no health benefits--only risks. Health Canada reports that 25% of the food supply is still laced with heart-clogging trans. Moreover, foods that are often consumed by children, such as cookies, cakes, doughnuts, and brownies, remain alarmingly high in trans fats. We need federal regulations in this area--no two ways about it.

It is critical that the federal government make nutrition labelling easier to understand for Canadians. The recent nutrition facts educational initiative is a start; however, much more needs to be done. For example, it is imperative that we standardize serving sizes for like products on the nutrition facts panel.

Over 80% of the food and beverages marketed to children in Canada are unhealthy. Again, it is critical that we work together to implement initiatives to eliminate this type of marketing.

Funding is also critically important for healthy living. The Heart and Stroke Foundation has proposed a heart health action plan for Canada, comprised of four initiatives. One of these initiatives calls for federal support for a national campaign to raise public awareness about women and heart disease. You've just heard me say that it's the number one cause of death among Canadian women. Only 23% of women in Canada understand how serious a health concern heart disease and stroke are for them.

On tobacco, I would like to underscore that as a key action on healthy living, we must continue our work on tobacco control. We applaud the new package warnings, as well as the flavours ban, in Bill C-32. We at the Heart and Stroke Foundation urge continuation of the federal tobacco control strategy to ensure that prevention and cessation programs are not halted. The strategy expires imminently on March 31, 2011.

Finally, aside from action on the domestic front, the federal government has a unique opportunity to champion several of the issues we have raised today at the upcoming United Nations noncommunicable diseases summit in New York City this coming fall. We urge the government to do so.

Thank you very much.

[Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst, Canadian Cancer Society]

Good afternoon. My name is Rob Cunningham. I am a lawyer and senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society.

Health Canada has completed excellent research on new package health warnings, a crucial pillar of Canada's comprehensive tobacco control strategy. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends that the government introduce as soon as possible a new series of warnings covering 75% of the package, front and back, as well as a series of improved messages inside packages.

Before continuing, I would like to extend praise to Minister Aglukkaq and to the Prime Minister for bringing forward Bill C-32 last year, and to express appreciation to all political parties for their support of the bill, including the MPs here today who were on the health committee at that time. The legislation banning flavours in cigarettes and little cigars is the best of its kind in the world. Bill C-32 recently proved influential in the adoption of new international guidelines on flavoured tobacco products.

This newly released Canadian Cancer Society report, “Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report”, shows that Canada is increasingly falling behind other countries. In 2001, Canada was the first country with picture warnings, and Canada had the largest warnings, at 50%. Now 39 countries and territories have picture warnings, and many of the countries requiring picture warnings after Canada are now on their second, third, or fourth round of pictures. For size, Canada has fallen from first to fifteenth in the international rankings, with more countries leap-frogging over Canada all the time. Uruguay has the largest warnings at 80%, with Honduras also about to have 80%. That's Uruguay and Honduras.

Australia has decided to go even further and require plain packaging. That is, maintaining health warnings but removing all brand colours and logos from packages. Warning size is crucial. The larger the size, the larger the impact. As a bilingual country, Canada needs more space than most other countries.

The tobacco industry will undoubtedly bring forward legal arguments against larger warnings. But such arguments would be entirely without merit. As a lawyer focusing in this area, I know the tobacco industry always attempts to bring forward legal arguments to block legislation. For the existing 50% package warnings, when they were brought forward a decade ago, the industry claimed that the warnings could not be justified legally. However, in 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada soundly and unanimously rejected the industry's claims. The industry simply cannot be believed.

When picture warnings were initially considered in 2000, incredibly the industry argued that it was technically impossible in Canada to print colour pictures on cigarette packages. Imagine! But of course the impossible proved possible and picture warnings were easily printed, as we see today.

We join with provincial health ministers in supporting the inclusion of a quit line number on every package as part of warning messaging. This toll-free number would make it easier for smokers, including residents of rural and remote areas, to get help in quitting from trained specialists. The experience in other countries is that quit line calls increase substantially once the number is on the package.

Contraband is an important issue, and governments should take action. But as newspaper editorials have stated, the government should take action on both contraband as well as new warnings. It's also worth nothing that contraband volumes in Canada have decreased dramatically over the last 18 months, and that cigarettes with required package warnings represent the overwhelming volume of sales in Canada. Tobacco products are the leading preventable killer of Canadians. We need a multifaceted approach.

Last week the minister identified social media as a means to reach youth. There is potential here. Indeed the Canadian Cancer Society's smoking cessation services already use social media: Facebook, Twitter, text messaging, and web-based messaging. Social media, however, should be used in addition to warnings. It should not be a substitute. Social media should not delay warnings. Both social media and warnings should be used, and each could enhance the impact of the other. A web address on the package could provide a link to and increase the impact of social media.

It must be emphasized that package warnings have credible and unparalleled exposure, reaching every smoker every day, as well as individuals around smokers: friends, family, co-workers.

Tobacco companies oppose larger 75% warnings knowing full well that warnings will reduce tobacco sales. But that is exactly the point.

Well-designed warnings increase awareness of the health effects of tobacco and decrease consumption, among both adults and youth.

In conclusion, we reiterate our considered recommendation that the government proceed on a pressing basis with new, improved 75% picture warnings that include a toll-free (1-800) quit line number and a web address, as well as with improved interior messages.

Merci. Thank you.

[Dr. Robert Strang, Chief Public Health Officer, Department of Health Promotion and Protection, Government of Nova Scotia]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the committee for the invitation to appear today on this very important public health matter to Nova Scotians and to all Canadians.

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge my colleague, Steve Machat, manager of tobacco control for the Department of Health Promotion and Protection, who's attending these hearings with me today. Steve is Nova Scotia's representative on the F/P/T Tobacco Liaison Committee and has been directly involved in the discussions regarding health warnings that have taken place at that committee over the past two to three years.

Before speaking directly to the need to urgently renew health warning labels on tobacco products, I would like to provide some context for the committee.

Tobacco does remain the leading cause of illness and premature death in Canada. Despite common perception, the work in tobacco control is far from done.

Internationally, Canada has been a leader in tobacco control in general and health warning labels in particular, being the first country to require these in 2001. However, as has been outlined in a recent report from the Canadian Cancer Society, Canada has now fallen to 15th alongside 18 other countries when ranked on cigarette package health warnings.

In Canada, we've made substantial progress in tobacco control, reducing our overall smoking rate from 28% in 2000 to 17.5% in 2009, and our youth--which are 15- to 19-year-olds--smoking rate from 28% in 2000 to 13% in 2009. This progress has been the result of a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach with leadership at all three levels of government on critical policy areas such as pricing, advertising, and protection from exposure to second-hand smoke. Leadership from the federal government has been critical and much appreciated in the first two of these areas.

However, much of the decrease in smoking rates occurred from 2000 to 2005, with very little change in smoking rates since then. Tobacco control in Canada has stalled. As long as there's an industry with a mandate to make profits for shareholders from the sale of tobacco products, maintaining our progress to date, let alone achieving further reductions in smoking rates, will require a continuation of the comprehensive, multi-faceted approach with the renewal and change of tactics based on the latest evidence.

In Canada, tobacco product packaging is the key remaining source of tobacco advertising. Renewed health warnings comprising at least 75% of the package space will decrease this advertising, make the health warnings more effective, and provide smokers with a single 1-800-quit line. All this will play a major role in continuing to decrease our smoking rates. That's why the tobacco industry does not want these renewed health warnings and it is exactly why we need to do it now.

Provincial and territorial governments remain puzzled as to why the initiative to renew health warnings was stopped at the last minute, with no consultation. The background work on this initiative, which was shared through the F/P/T Tobacco Liaison Committee, had been completed, and there was no hint of concern or reluctance on the part of Health Canada officials as this work progressed.

It's also extremely disappointing to learn that the tobacco industry was informed about Health Canada's decision several months before provincial-territorial partners or the tobacco control community.

One has to wonder what role the tobacco industry played in the decision not to move ahead with the renewal of health warning labels on tobacco packages. After all, their historic tactics are delay, distract, and distort, and it is known they have access and influence. As was presented recently to this committee, Health Canada held four private meetings with the tobacco industry between November 2009 and May 2010.

The delay in the visual health warning and the toll-free number has only one beneficiary: the tobacco industry.

In addition, Health Canada's rationale for the delay does not stand up to scrutiny either. We do not need more study on the effectiveness of health warnings and the need for Canada's to be renewed. We just need to do it. We do not need more study to further restrict tobacco advertising on tobacco packaging. We just need to do it. We do not need to hold up the renewal of health warnings on cigarette packages while we work to find more effective ways to use the Internet and social media to communicate health warnings and other information about tobacco products. Implementing cigarette package changes can happen now and the remaining complementary approaches can be implemented as they are developed.

Lastly, as important as it is, we cannot focus just on contraband. Contrary to what the aggressive advertising campaign of the tobacco industry would have you believe, the vast majority of cigarettes smoked by young people across Canada are legal. As stated earlier, continued success in tobacco control will require a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach. The best way to prevent contraband use is to prevent people from smoking cigarettes, period, and that's through a comprehensive approach.

The tobacco industry wants and needs to distract us from such an approach because they know it will work to further reduce smoking rates. As an individual whose professional and legal responsibility is to work to protect the health of Nova Scotians, I need to ask why the interests of the tobacco industry are being placed above the health of Canadians and the interests of provincial and territorial governments.

The federal government has shown leadership in tobacco control over many years. Bill C-32 is a shining example. It prohibits flavoured tobacco and advertising of such products. Nova Scotia, along with all other provinces and territories, had urged the federal government to address this issue. I am fully aware that Bill C-32 was and continues to be a lightning rod for the global tobacco industry. We know they don't like it. And let me say to the federal government, thank you for staying steadfast and resisting calls to weaken the legislation.

The renewal of health warning labels on tobacco products needs similar political will and leadership. The rationale is clear, the background work has been done, and there are no valid reasons to not move ahead now. Failure to act will weaken the tobacco control efforts of other levels of governments and society, it will create avoidable cost utilization of already stressed provincial and territorial health care systems, and, above all, it will cost lives.

Thank you. We welcome your questions.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Okay, thank you.

Regarding Bill C-32, we had a big success with banning flavoured cigarillos and flavoured tobacco products. That was a great success, and I know you and my predecessor, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, worked quite closely on that, but we do have a problem with some cigarillos. What some of the companies have done, as you know, is to take out the filter to make the cigarillos bigger so they can skirt the definitions.

Does the government have plans to close that loophole?

Tobacco Products

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, in Canada we have had labels on our tobacco packages since 2001. Our government is committed to protecting the health and safety of Canadian children from the damages of tobacco. We are proud of Bill C-32, the Tobacco Act, which bans flavours that would appeal to children, sets minimum package size and bans all tobacco as it would be viewed by youth.

We will continue to enforce violations of this legislation and are encouraged by the results of the recent tobacco survey that shows that fewer young Canadians are smoking.

[Athana Mentzelopoulos]

The broad answer is that the government's view is that Parliament has enacted valid legislation regarding tobacco. Tobacco use is a unique social and health problem, and the Tobacco Act was developed specifically to try to manage that problem. In addition, the Tobacco Act has been subjected to constitutional challenges and we know as a result of the Supreme Court decision in 2007 that it is validly enacted legislation. So there is a firm basis for management of tobacco in the context of the Tobacco Act and no need to address it in the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I want to thank the officials for being here again to help explain this very important bill to us and the Canadian public.

There has been a lot of misinformation and perhaps interpretation and just misunderstanding of some of the aspects of the bill. One of the things that's close to this committee's heart is tobacco and we worked very hard together and we passed Bill C-32. I think everybody here is very proud of that. But tobacco products have a permanent statutory exemption under this bill. Only the propensity for ignition is included in the regulatory framework, and some of our stakeholders have insisted that this exclusion be deleted in the interest of the overall health of Canadians.

So why have you not changed this since the last bill? I was wondering if you could explain it to everybody in plain language and maybe give an example.

Mr. Ianiro, I talked to you about this before in one of the briefings. Would you be able to put that on the table for us?

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you.

I guess I'm concerned. We have all agreed and we all passed Bill C-32. The problem has now shifted to the illegal market.

Contraband tobacco undermines many initiatives. Illegal products have no warning labels, no emissions information, and no product controls, and they are sold directly to children. I'd like to know what more specific actions the department will be taking.