Health committee  The terms “light”, “mild”, “ultra-light”, “extra-light”, “extra-mild” are misleading. They've been part of a strategy to reassure smokers, and there's been a perception created by tobacco industry marketing that these are significantly less harmful than “regular” cigarettes. Unfo

Health committee  Prior to the previous regulations for picture warnings coming into force, the smoking rate was 24% among Canadian adults; it has fallen to 18%. Among youth 15 to 19 years, the rate has fallen from 28% to 13% in the same time period. There has been a tremendous decline while the p

Health committee  I don't think there is anything problematic with that change. It will not directly affect what's going to be on the label. There will be a change to the label, so that instead of having tar and nicotine numbers--which we now know are misleading, because humans don't smoke like ma

Health committee  Any company that does import will have to comply with the regulations, just as if they were a domestic manufacturer. They have an ongoing ability to import, and companies will still be able to import, but yes, regulations have to be complied with.

Health committee  With respect to package warnings, Canada will be in a position of world leadership. Canada will not have the biggest warnings in the world. Australia is soon to have about 82.5%, with 75% on the front and 90% on the back; Uruguay already has 80%; there are some other countries, s

Health committee  Thank you. The overwhelming proportion of smokers begin as a teenagers or pre-teens. The smoking rate for youths 15 to 19 is 13%, which is unacceptably high. Every month that there's a delay in these new warnings coming into force, there will be a delay in preventing kids from s

Health committee  Minister Aglukkaq has announced that Health Canada is going to have a social media campaign in association with these new warnings on the packages. We support that. These messages can be complementary with the warnings on the packages; they could be interactive. We know that the

Health committee  Chair and committee members, my name is Rob Cunningham. I am a lawyer and senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Regarding the proposed regulations being considered by the committee, it is the recommendation of th

Health committee  All 13 provinces and territories now have legislation banning visible displays. We support that legislation, because it is promotion. It encourages impulse purchases and so on. The warnings will be seen 20 times a day by an individual smoker. Every time the person takes the pack

Health committee  I think what's been announced by the minister is very significant. It's a public health gain, and it's going to reduce smoking. It will be the best, or among the best, overall package warning systems in the world. Increasing the size increases the impact. A picture says a thousan

Health committee  We're very concerned about the high youth rates for smoking in the aboriginal population, whether it's first nations or Inuit. I think in terms of both policy and programming, there is potential. First nations governments have jurisdiction to enact laws, which is not being used.

Health committee  We have been engaged in consultations on solutions as recently as a few weeks ago, because it's very much an aboriginal health issue. It's a health issue for Canada as a whole. It's a revenue issue for governments. We need to find solutions.

Health committee  Yes. I mean, it's scheduled to expire. The government has engaged in consultations. I think the government is conscious of the deadline. You've heard from the minister her perspective on the importance of tobacco control. Of course, we are getting close to a deadline, and we just

Health committee  We are not aware.

Health committee  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 l