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.