Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question because I think it is very important that Canadians realize just what a groundbreaking exercise we have entered in our study of plain packaging.
The in-depth market research project which I asked my department to commission has appointed an independent panel of experts who will look into the effects of packaging on tobacco sales, especially tobacco sales to young people. They will then design a plain package, looking at many issues in terms of looking at the contraband problem, ensuring that the package is not easily reproduced or copied. The same panel will then test market the product to see just how effective this will be.
It is very sad to see a group of people who joke and who laugh when thousands of Canadians every year, 40,000, die as a direct result of smoking. We are committed to doing everything that we can to ensure that as many people as possible do not take up the habit, especially our young people.