Justice committee  I think the news for cigarettes is much more encouraging—

Justice committee  —in terms of the trend in seizures. If you add up the RCMP and CBSA seizures together, the news is far more encouraging. Of course, seizures are only one indication. It is not necessarily representative of contraband. The police are getting better at what they're doing because o

Justice committee  Yes, including other measures implemented by the federal government and the Ontario and Quebec governments.

Justice committee  No, that was a national study.

Justice committee  Done for the federal government.

Justice committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Rob Cunningham, lawyer and senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. We support Bill C-10. We urge all parties to support adoption of the bill as soon as possible. At th

Finance committee  Yes. It's about $5 per 100 grams, so it depends on the size of the container. The price is made up of provincial taxes, federal tobacco taxes, and the manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer price. So there is an increase. It's not going to double the price, but it's certainly very bene

Finance committee  We have some very good examples from Newfoundland and Alberta, which have taken similar measures with respect to the roll-your-own loophole. That tax increase was followed by increased revenue and a big decrease in the roll-your-own category. We know that every 1% decrease in smo

Finance committee  The good news is that even the tobacco industry admits there have been significant decreases in contraband. According to their figures, it's almost been cut in half between 2008 and 2010, with some indications of further decreases since then. There are some examples of this, in t

Finance committee  Every year 37,000 Canadians die from cancer, lung disease, heart disease, and stroke. It remains a leading preventable cause of disease and death, so this will have an impact. We're certainly very appreciative of the support for this.

Finance committee  There's more than $4 billion a year in direct health care costs. If you look at indirect measures, absenteeism and lost productivity and fires, it's $17 billion a year in direct/indirect economic costs. So there's a huge burden on society, and that's why it's essential that these

Finance committee  I know you want these figures given your previous work on the health committee and your own professional background. We're down to 17% of Canadians who smoke. That's still five million Canadians. In 1965, it was 50%, but an enormous amount of work still remains to be done.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  The most recent cost estimate for smoking-caused disease each year in Canada is $4.4 billion, largely paid by provincial governments. With the indirect economic costs as well, the total then becomes $17 billion.

Finance committee  Thank you, Chair and members of the committee. My name is Rob Cunningham and I am a senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before this committee today. My testimony will focus on clauses 53 to 61 of Bill C-60, which con