Mr. Speaker, I rise to present eight petitions. There is still a great concern in Peterborough riding about the lowering of the tobacco tax. I would like to summarize these petitions.
The first one which has 25 signatures stresses the increase in teen smoking which will be caused by the change. The second which also has 25 signatures suggests there will be more preventable deaths as a result of this measure than there were deaths in World War I and World War II combined. The third petition also with 25 signatures contains a reminder that the problem was Canadian tobacco which was being imported back into the country.
The next petition also has 25 signatures and suggests that the change could create two million more tobacco addicts in Canada. The next petition points out that between one-third and one-half of all smokers eventually die from tobacco use. The next petition which has 75 signatures stresses the effective marking of all tobacco products.
The second last petition with 25 signatures supports the idea of high export taxes rather than the lowering of the sales tax. The last one which has 34 signatures points out that in Peterborough riding alone 200 people die every year from tobacco use. It also points out that the incidence of lung cancer in women has tripled in the last 20 years.
I present these petitions which I have signed.