Evidence of meeting #26 for Health in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was product.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Director General, Controlled Substances and Tobacco Directorate, Department of Health
Yes, thank you, I'll start.
The Tobacco Act was brought into force in 1997, and through that we were able to implement a number of regulatory measures, including the first-in-the-world health warning messages on packages. We work very closely and cooperatively with our PT partners. As you may have seen, there's been a groundswell of no-smoking bylaws that went right across the country, and of course there are the retail display bans as well. Now Health Canada plays a very critical role in working with the provinces by developing the research they need to develop their legislation, and by monitoring and surveillance so they can see how their different initiatives are impacting the community.
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
With all due respect, Mr. Glover, I have to disagree completely with you about the government's quickness to act on the contraband trade. The government has literally been dragging its heels on this matter. It does not want to act. We have proposed a number of measures to assess the extent of the contraband problem as well as more proactive steps to eradicate the problem. You are correct in saying that this is not the aim of the bill. I'm getting to the bill, but I did want to clarify our differences of opinion with regard to this subject.
A number of witnesses have called into question the different studies done in advance of Bill C-32. From your testimony I take it that you have complete confidence in the validity of your studies.
Can you be more specific about the process used to determine that young people are major consumers of the products slated to be taken off the market?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
Madam Chair, I would like to thank Mr. Malo for his question.
As Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for developing policies and strategies to meet the challenges facing our country, I have complete confidence in our survey and in our research approach. It represents a sound way to obtain the information required for policy development. This is a broad, complex process.
I will ask my colleague Mr. Choinière to provide additional details.
Director, Office of Regulations and Compliance, Tobacco Control Program, Department of Health
The issue is whether we have detailed information about all users from all levels and all age groups. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. The tools available to us, such as surveys, are limited. Maybe you've received a phone call while you were making dinner. Someone wanted to ask you 10,000 questions and you had ten minutes to respond. As a general rule, we have anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to ask our questions. The basic questions that make up our surveys have not changed since 1998. We rotate our selection of questions, but we are limited as to how many we can ask. For example, the question about little cigar consumption has only been part of our survey since 2007. We stand by the quality of our data, but clearly we cannot cover all types of usage by all age groups.
Director General, Controlled Substances and Tobacco Directorate, Department of Health
I did hear some doubt in the industry's comments earlier on, particularly around little cigar usage. In 2007, it was the first time Health Canada actually looked at the use of little cigars specifically. Previously it had been buried in a category where it was all rolled up. So we do have good data on little cigar use. Twenty-five percent of kids have tried it across the country. One-quarter of children, age 15 to 17, tried a little cigar in 2007. So yes, I'm very confident in those stats.
Bloc
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
How do you feel about the two amendments proposed by Mr. O'Shea?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
Unfortunately, Madam Chair, the witness's proposal does present some problems for the department, in particular as far as weight criteria are concerned, because it could create a loophole for other products. We can show you some images to give you an idea of the impact of such a proposal. They are in both official languages.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
Please give it to the clerk. The clerk will have it distributed.
Ms. Wasylycia-Leis.
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Thanks to everyone.
I want to ask a question about an amendment I proposed, which is on smokeless tobacco. If that amendment were to pass, would your department be able to handle this in the context of Bill C-32 without requiring additional resources and staffing to regulate in this area?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
Thank you for the question.
The short answer to that with respect to incremental resources is yes. If that amendment were to pass, the department would be in a position, as are others within that, so we are prepared to deal with that. The concern we would have is that the data that is available is regional more than national, but we would be able to manage with the resources.
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
What I don't understand is how people who produce the chewing tobacco--and we've heard about all the side effects of that--can compare it to a harm reduction program like Nicorette gum. Is there any comparison between the two, based on your information?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
My apologies. I am struggling with how to frame a response....
Assistant Deputy Minister, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
With respect to the question on a concept that has been introduced--harm reduction in this particular product class and area--I do not feel equipped today to make any kind of informed comment with respect to that. It would be my own personal opinion.
I would turn to my colleagues, if they have anything further to add.
Director General, Controlled Substances and Tobacco Directorate, Department of Health
It's very clear this product is highly addictive. It causes all kinds of diseases--mouth diseases, as you were saying earlier. The product, in Health Canada's view, is not a safe alternative to a cigarette. There is no such thing as a safe tobacco product.
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
On another matter, could you tell us what would be, if you looked at Mr. O'Shea's proposed amendments--and I think he has made two or three suggestions--the impact in terms of our ability to control the proliferation of these types of products to young people?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
Thank you for the question.
I am not sure if our handouts have made their way around. As I said earlier, our concern is that they would essentially create loopholes that would allow a number of products to continue to exist as we move forward, particularly with regard to the weight, where we would continue to see a large number of products continue to be made available, products that, from our research, we believe are of high interest to youth. That is our principal concern.
Maybe I could ask my colleague to explain the three handouts that are circulating.
Conservative
Director, Office of Regulations and Compliance, Tobacco Control Program, Department of Health
In figure 1, you'll see that those are little cigars with a cigarette filter. I think the proposition made by Mr. O'Shea would keep these in the bill. However, if you look at figure 2, they are little cigars that are less than 1.4 grams but without a filter. My understanding of the proposal is that these would no longer be captured. This is the loophole that Mr. Glover was referring to earlier.