Mr. Speaker, I want to draw your attention to a flagrant violation of Canada's tobacco laws and make an appeal to the government for urgent intervention.
Last week an advertisement appeared in daily newspapers across Canada promoting du Maurier cigarettes and offering a trip to New York City, but there is a hitch. One has to be a smoker to apply. The ad says “Live it up in the city that never sleeps”.
Do not think for a minute that this ad was not designed to appeal to young people. Do not imagine for a moment that this was not another insidious attempt on the part of tobacco companies to have young people associate glamorous living with smoking.
It undercuts so much of the work we have done here and it is certainly contrary to the Tobacco Act.
I call upon the government to take action against du Maurier and to stand up against big tobacco companies and refuse to tolerate any violation of the laws of this land and the values of Canadians.