The reason is that some of the information is gleaned from the Youth Smoking Survey which was conducted in Quebec, and also from the Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey. However, all of the reports about this type of product are based on very general information.
I'm saying that Health Canada does not have any specific information because the products consumed are not specified. The aim of the Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey was to find out if people had smoked a cigar or cigarillo, either flavoured or unflavoured, in the past 30 days. It is impossible to tell from the survey whether the product consumed was flavoured or unflavoured, how often the product was smoked, the quantity consumed or where the product originated.
Mention was made of the contraband trade. An illicit market also exists for flavoured products. The RCMP reports that over the past six months, approximately 800,000 flavoured little cigars have been seized. The Akwesasne Mohawks have started to make their own little flavoured cigars known as Tomahawks on their reserve. I have provided pertinent information about this development to all parliamentarians.
The problem is that no one has any idea of how often people consume this product. The government wants to restrict unit sales to limit the product's accessibility to minors.Yet, it is not known whether young people are purchasing cigars in single units. For example, the nephew of a friend of mine purchases Honey Time cigars manufactured by Distribution GVA in packages of 20 units. I'd also just like to say that Distribution GVA has found a retailer willing to sell its products. The retailer in question also sells single cigars for $1 each. What purpose does it serve to ban unit sales when young people are already purchasing the product in packages of 20 units?
All I am asking, since I am concerned about tobacco control, is that some research be conducted. I've been requesting this for a year now. The kind of research I have in mind would take only two months, not two years. Right now, the government is moving blindly to bring in regulations, without having a clear picture of the situation.
One thing is clear—and I have provided all committee members with information from the RCMP— and that is if the sale of these legal flavoured products is banned, the products will continue to find their way onto the market. Furthermore, these products will certainly continue to be sold on the contraband market and to be available to young people, not to mention that they will be more affordable as well.