Mr. Speaker, recently the Imperial Cancer Research Fund released the staggering results of the longest and most extensive study ever undertaken into tobacco use. Their findings show that smoking causes 100 times more deaths than it prevents and at least half of these smokers will be killed by their habit.
These statistics are shocking but even more shocking is the fact that in the six months since the government rolled back the taxes, sales are up 41 per cent.
This sharp increase in overall consumption is directly attributable to the drop in prices. The federal Minister of Health said it is time for Canada to share the expertise it has gained in its efforts to reduce smoking in Canada.
The government is guilty of negligence with its policy in this regard. It should now do the right thing and scrap the tobacco tax rollback which has backfired so badly. Anything less will cost us hundreds of millions of dollars in lost GNP, increased costs in health care, and untold human suffering and death.