House of Commons Hansard #229 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was smoking.
Ahmed Hussen Liberal York South—Weston, ON
moved that Bill S-5, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be read the second time and referred to a committee.
Bill Blair LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and to the Minister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be here to begin the second reading debate on Bill S-5, an act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.
Bill S-5 was introduced into the other place last November by Senator Petitclerc. My sincere thanks to the senator for helping advance this legislation, and to the members of the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology for their work in reviewing this bill.
All members of this House are aware of the dangers associated with tobacco use. They also know that reducing the use of tobacco has been a primary public health goal of governments, at all levels, for decades.
My colleagues should also know that tobacco use is a significant economic burden on this country as well. It cost Canadian society approximately $16.2 billion as of 2012, the last year for which figures are available. That is $466 for every Canadian. These costs are for health care, responding to tobacco-related fires, policing contraband tobacco, research and prevention, and include lost productivity due to disability and premature death from tobacco use.
Bill S-5 will advance key elements of our government's comprehensive plan to strengthen tobacco control in Canada. These include the establishment of a new framework for regulating vaping products and facilitating the implementation of plain packaging for tobacco products.
Before I lay out details of the bill, I want to set out some broader context, so that members may appreciate the need for strengthening tobacco control and how the bill fits in within the broader health agenda.
When the federal tobacco control strategy was launched in 2001, Canada's tobacco control approaches were regarded as innovative and world leading. As a nation, we established an impressive track record in driving down tobacco use. Indeed, we established ourselves as a world leader in this area. Overall, our smoking rate has fallen, from 22% in 2001, to 13% in 2015. Since the launch of the federal strategy, all the provinces and territories have enacted their own tobacco control legislation and approaches. The combined efforts of federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments in tobacco control have been crucial to Canada's success to date. The decline in tobacco use in Canada means that fewer Canadians will die as a result. This is something we can all be proud of. However, we can always do better.
The sad fact is that 4.5 million Canadians still use tobacco. In 2015 alone, 115,000 Canadians became daily smokers. Approximately, 45,000 Canadians will die every year from tobacco-related illness, representing 18% of all Canadian deaths. That is one person every 12 minutes. By the time we finish with this speech, another Canadian will have passed away from a tobacco-related illness. The toll of tobacco-related preventable deaths is unacceptable. Our goal recognizes the need to establish a new regulatory framework, one that is firmly grounded on public health imperatives.
Canada has ceded the mantle of world leader in tobacco control to other countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom. They have been quicker to adapt their tobacco control efforts to address the always-changing strategies that tobacco companies use to recruit new smokers. It is our government's intention to once again make Canada a world leader in tobacco control. That is why we have launched an ambitious tobacco-control agenda. This agenda has four main components.
First, our government published an order amending the Tobacco Act to ban the use of menthol in most tobacco products sold on the Canadian market. Evidence has shown that the use of these products makes tobacco more palatable. Tobacco companies have acted on this by introducing menthol products in far greater numbers. By implementing a ban on menthol, we have acted on the evidence as well. The changes we made expanded flavour restrictions to 95% of the entire tobacco market in Canada, helping to make tobacco products less appealing to youth. With Bill S-5, we are proposing to go further and ban it in 100% of tobacco products.
Second, our government has initiated work to modernize Canada's approach to tobacco control. The federal tobacco control strategy was set to expire on March 31, 2017. We have extended this deadline to March 2018 to allow more time to consult broadly and to fully examine all of the options. This past March, we convened a national forum, at which more than 150 stakeholders and partners discussed the future of tobacco control in Canada. We launched the forum by asking participants how we could best modernize Canada's approach to tobacco control. We also conducted an online public consultation on the future of tobacco control. Reaching our goal will require the support of all Canadians, including stakeholders, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, and indigenous peoples.
We heard from more than 1,800 individuals and organizations from across Canada. We heard that Canadians are tired of having their health and the health of their loved ones adversely affected by this highly addictive substance. They are ready to take action to prevent young people from taking up smoking, and they are ready to make a commitment to living healthier lives.
Third, our government has committed to implementing plain and standardized packaging for tobacco packages and products and to make them less attractive to our youth and other Canadians. This commitment was identified in the Minister of Health's mandate letter, and its implementation is a priority for our government.
Fourth, we have committed to addressing the growing market for vaping products. Regulating vaping is important to the health of Canadians, particularly in terms of protecting youth and preventing the potential renormalization of smoking. As I said earlier, our tobacco control strategy must remain up to date with the changing product trends.
Having provided details on our government's agenda for tobacco control, I would like now to take this opportunity to provide more details on the key aspects of Bill S-5.
Bill S-5 supports our commitment to implementing plain and standardized packaging for tobacco products. Tobacco packages are powerful promotional vehicles for the industry to communicate brand imagery. Research has shown that plain packaging measures, including the removal of logos, textures, colours, and brand image, help make tobacco products less appealing, especially to youth.
I firmly believe that tobacco companies should not be able to use attractive packaging to market a product that causes devastating, indisputable, and well-documented damage to people's health. Canadians agree, and they are ready to support action by the federal government that would discourage youth from starting to use tobacco products. As such, the bill would support the implementation of plain packaging of tobacco products by providing the authority to develop regulations to enable and facilitate this.
Bill S-5 will also help us respond to the rapid increase we have seen in the popularity of vaping products. Evidence has suggested that these new products, while harmful, would be less harmful than traditional tobacco products, and consequently they have the potential to bring about public health benefits if they reduce tobacco-related death and disease.
For smokers who are unable to quit, switching to a vaping product could be a way to reduce the harm that smoking has on their health and the burden that it places upon society. However, these products could also potentially lead to nicotine addiction to the use of tobacco products, and to the renormalization of smoking behaviour, reversing the gains we have made over the past 30 years.
Recent surveys conducted by Health Canada indicate that 26% of Canadian youth aged 15 to 19 have tried an e-cigarette. This is a concern. Early exposure to nicotine can render an individual more susceptible to nicotine addiction and may have adverse consequences for brain development. Sadly, young people may not recognize the lifelong implications of experimenting with these products. Bill S-5 aims to strike a balance, allowing adult smokers to use vaping products which may provide them with a path away from the more deadly cigarette, while also protecting youth and non-users from being recruited into a lifelong addiction to nicotine.
The legislation proposes to regulate the manufacture, sale, labelling, and promotion of vaping products with and without nicotine, including vaping devices and substances such as e-liquids. The bill would amend the Non-smokers' Health Act to protect those in federally regulated workplaces from the potential harms of second-hand vapour. The bill would also harmonize compliance and enforcement authorities for both tobacco and vaping products with other modern statutes administered by Health Canada.
Bill S-5 also contains provisions aimed specifically at protecting young people from vaping products. For example, the bill would restrict youth access to vaping products by prohibiting the sale of these products to youth under the age of 18. It would protect youth from inducements to using vaping products by prohibiting marketing practices known to be effective at targeting youth.
In these ways, Bill S-5 responds to the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Health in its report entitled “Vaping: Towards a regulatory framework for e-cigarettes”.
Some people have been critical of Bill S-5 because they want to be able to promote vaping products as reduced-risk products. To address this concern, the other place proposed amendments to Bill S-5 to allow the government, through regulations, to set out exceptions for certain evidence-based statements regarding the relative health risks of vaping products. Once these regulations are in place, manufacturers and retailers would be allowed to use these statements in their promotions for vaping products. At the same time, Canadians would continue to be protected from deceptive or misleading claims on the health hazards of using vaping products.
We will also continue to invest in scientific research to better understand the health impacts of vaping and to gather data on how Canadians are using these products. In fact, Health Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research are already collaborating to regularly generate data on vaping products which is used to inform policy and regulatory decisions.
Let me be clear. The evidence we have today indicates that while it is true that vaping products are less harmful than cigarettes, they are still potentially harmful. Bill S-5 would enable us to have stronger federal oversight to better protect Canadians from the negative health effects associated with using these products. Should Bill S-5 become law, Canada will join the ranks of some 60 countries that have already taken action to specifically regulate vaping products.
These international approaches range from minimal regulation to full bans. Despite these differences, many jurisdictions, including the European Union and the United States, are taking similar approaches to protecting youth from the dangers of nicotine addiction while allowing adult smokers to access vaping products.
In conclusion, the proposed legislation would allow our government to protect the health of Canadians by establishing a new framework for regulating the manufacture, sale, labelling, and advertising of vaping products in a flexible way that could be adjusted as our knowledge of these products evolves.
I would like to reiterate that vaping products are not harmless, and that the evidence on nicotine is clear. It is particularly harmful to young people. Given these facts, our government is committed to taking action and to balancing the needs of Canadians through this legislation.
Bill S-5 takes into consideration both the health harms, and the potential public health benefits of vaping products. It aims to protect youth and non-users of tobacco products from inducements to use tobacco, and it would allow adults to legally access vaping products as a less harmful alternative to tobacco.
Bill S-5 also supports our government's efforts to implement plain and standardized packaging requirements for tobacco products. It is a critical piece of our government's tobacco control agenda. If passed, Bill S-5 would contribute to reducing tobacco use in Canada and allow for the regulation of vaping in a way that protects the health and safety of Canadians.
Our government is committed to charting a new course of action in tobacco control that contributes to our overall vision for a healthy Canada. It is critical that we work together to address one of our most challenging and enduring public health problems. Accordingly, I encourage all members to support Bill S-5 at second reading and refer it to the Standing Committee on Health for further study.
Diane Finley Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk, ON
Mr. Speaker, this bill would require plain packaging for all cigarette products, not just the box in which it comes, but also the tube. There would be no identifiable markers as to who made the product or what brand it is. Consumers would have no idea what they were buying. There is nothing there for consumer protection so that consumers will know that what they are getting is what they are paying for and believe they are buying.
More importantly, it opens up what is already a very lucrative and extensive contraband market within this country. It is estimated that in some parts of the country up to 80% of cigarettes are already contraband.
Without any identifiers or branding, this market could balloon and consumers would have no protection. Could the parliamentary secretary comment on this in light of his background prior to arriving in this House?
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, contraband tobacco is a significant concern, particularly the risk it poses to our kids. From my experience in my previous jurisdiction, where I was responsible for the safety of those kids, I am aware of the studies indicating that almost half of the cigarettes consumed by young people are produced by criminal enterprise and that these are a great health risk.
However, plain and standardized packaging is about protecting the health of Canadians. Illicit tobacco products are an important issue, and these illegal lower-priced cigarettes undermine the need to reduce tobacco use. With respect to counterfeit tobacco, cigarette packages sold in Canada will continue to be required to carry pictorial health warnings and to display both overt and covert compromising security features. These measures reduce the opportunity for organized crime.
Assessing contraband tobacco activities and enhancing compliance with the Tobacco Act is a priority of the federal tobacco control strategy. Funding through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canada Border Security Agency, Canada Revenue Agency, and Public Safety Canada to specifically address this issue has been made available.
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Mr. Speaker, we know that more independent research needs to be done on the health effects of e-cigarettes and related devices, as well as on the impact the introduction of these nicotine products is having on young people and on other tobacco control efforts.
I would like to know whether the Government of Canada will commit to allocate funding to these independent research projects.
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, we agree that evidence-based policy is the best policy and that research needs to be done.
We certainly have some indication that these products may be less harmful, but there is an equally serious concern that they may also be used to introduce young people to nicotine. That is why the provisions of this act will make that an offence.
We recognize the importance of research. As I indicated in my earlier remarks, the government has made a commitment to make funds available through its work with the CIHR to enhance and increase research into the health implications. We will continue to closely monitor that research and the evidence as we go forward.
However, we are taking a precautionary approach. While we recognize that these products may be less harmful, until the science fully evolves and there is a clear understanding of the potential harms from vaping, we want to make sure that Canadian legislation is sufficiently cautious to protect the overall health of our citizens.
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.
I would like to ask him whether Bill S-5 provides for plain packaging for all tobacco products or whether he thinks exceptions will be made for certain products, such as cigars weighing more than 1.4 g, as is done in some other countries that have plain or standardized packaging.
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, the health implications of tobacco use are very clearly documented and completely unacceptable. We believe that plain packaging will assist us to further reduce the attractiveness of these products to consumers, particularly young people.
The proposed regulations are for all tobacco products.
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, I heard the parliamentary secretary clearly iterate that the government wants to reduce absolute harms, and that smoking is harmful. Therefore, could he comment on the hypocrisy of saying this at the same time the government is legalizing the smoking of marijuana, which has already been proven to be harmful?
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question because it gives me an opportunity to explain the importance of being able to regulate these substances. Currently, cannabis is under no control other than criminal sanction.
Over a third of our kids between the ages of 18 and 24 are now using this drug. It has become almost ubiquitous in our society, and the cannabis they are using is produced by criminal enterprises. It is not tested. It is not regulated in any way. It is very difficult to enforce the rules, and they remain unenforced.
Something that is prohibited cannot be regulated. By lifting the criminal prohibition and replacing it with a very restrictive and comprehensive system of regulation for the production, distribution, and consumption of cannabis, we can enhance the health environment for all of our citizens, do a much better job of keeping this out of the hands of kids and other vulnerable populations, and bring some science and evidence to what is being consumed by Canadians very regularly today, to make sure they know the potency, purity, and provenance of what they are consuming.
Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC
Mr. Speaker, I do not see anything about e-cigarettes in all of that information.
Does the government intend to make a distinction between e-cigarettes and regular tobacco products when it comes to advertising and branding?
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. When we are referring to vaping, we are including regulatory control of the e-cigarette. There are a number of different ways in which this vapour is being consumed, including e-cigarettes. The proposed regulations or restrictions being put in place will also encompass that method of consuming vaping products.
Celina Caesar-Chavannes LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has visited my riding in the last few months to talk about different pieces of legislation. He knows that Whitby is a bedroom community. There are a lot of young people there.
Could the parliamentary secretary expand on how this piece of legislation would further allow parents in my community to understand the government's responsible and very targeted approach to handling vaping and e-cigarettes?
Bill Blair Liberal Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, the protection of children, quite frankly, is our greatest priority and greatest responsibility.
We recognize the risk of early and frequent tobacco use. The use of tobacco in various potencies can also present a risk to our kids. That is why we are bringing forward this legislation.
We have achieved some extraordinary results, significantly reducing the incidence of tobacco use among our young people. In fact, tobacco use is significantly lower among our young people than cannabis use. However, we still have more work to do, as we know the health risks of tobacco to our young people. That is why we are taking these steps.
Parents can be reassured that we are taking steps to make sure that these packages will not be sold in an enticing way or as an inducement to young people to begin to use this product. We also want to make sure they have information. Many young people believe that because vaping is less harmful, it cannot be harmful to them. As an introduction to nicotine, it can also lead, at a very early age in their young lives, to nicotine exposure. We know that early exposure to nicotine and nicotine addiction can very often encourage young people to turn to other forms of nicotine consumption, in particular cigarettes.
The steps we are taking will reassure parents that the government takes the health, safety, and security of their kids very seriously. We are taking steps that are necessary to protect them, and also to inform all Canadians. The more success we can achieve in reducing tobacco use among all of our citizens, particularly our kids, the more lives will be saved. It it worth doing.
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here today to speak to Bill S-5, an act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts. There are two parts to the bill. One speaks to the plain packaging issue and the rest to vaping.
I am going to take my usual approach and say what I like about the bill and what I do not like, and then discuss things I think we should consider as we move the bill forward.
I am very proud of the Conservative Party's record on reducing tobacco smoking. When the Conservative government implemented measures in this area, the number of young people in Canada smoking tobacco was cut in half. That is admirable. Smoking rates overall under our government fell to an all-time low of 13%. I think everyone in the House would admit that we know that smoking is harmful. We want to reduce the number of people smoking and the harmful effects associated with it. However, that is not the only consideration in the bill. We also need to make sure that we reduce the crime involved in all of the things the bill addresses. We need to be concerned as well about any of the economic impacts we might see as the bill is implemented.
With respect to the vaping industry, it is possible that people are not very familiar with vaping. I had a number of people in the industry come to me and demonstrate all the neat devices one can use to take either glycol, water, or some additives and heat them to a vapour that one can inhale. A number of things are being vaped. In some cases, people use vaping to get off smoking. They start with a concentrated nicotine liquid and over time reduce the concentration of that nicotine liquid. The act of vaping sort of satisfies their smoking need, and over time they actually can quit smoking.
In addition to that, there are different flavours that have been allowed. People are vaping flavours for different reasons, some to get off smoking, and some to address other situations. Folks who are diabetic or morbidly obese apparently prefer to vape something that has a sweet flavour to it, because then they are not really receiving any calories but are addressing one of their compulsive needs.
This is the information that has been shared with me by the vaping industry. On the other hand, the vaping industry today is totally unregulated. That is a problem, because in Canada we regulate pretty much everything else: food, drugs, etc. We are also concerned about vaping products getting into the hands of children, so we would like to see the industry regulated. That is a part of the bill I do like. We need to regulate this industry. The recommendation to only make making vaping products available to those over 18 is a very good idea.
We also need to make sure that as we deal with this, we take into consideration all of the different types of devices. This is an area where the technology is changing. One of the points raised earlier was that e-cigarettes need to be in this category. However, even within the tobacco industry, there is growing science to reduce harm. Therefore, one of the products that is not currently addressed by this legislation, but needs to be addressed somewhere, is nicotine sticks, the actual tobacco sticks that are heated. They are not being combusted. It is not a smoking phenomenon; it is a heating phenomenon. The research that has been done by that industry shows there is a 75% harm reduction from these products. Somewhere, these products need to be addressed, but they are not really addressed today by this legislation. I have heard some conversation suggesting that they would remain under the tobacco part of the legislation, but that would not give them a fair playing field, because they would be competing with the vaping products.
The vaping products that are out there need to be regulated. We need to be concerned about how these things will be promoted and sold. Today, unregulated vaping shops have arisen. The regular convenience stores are not able to get into that market, so the input from the Canadian Convenience Stores Association is that whatever rules are put in place, they would like to be able to partake and participate in that market. That is a reasonable concern.
One of the studies done in the U.K. on vaping shows a 95% reduction in harm from vaping over smoking regular tobacco. This is definitely moving in the direction of reduced harm. I am concerned that if we are too restrictive about advertising those benefits, it might be a mistake. We want people to stop smoking. That is one of the main drivers of all the things we are talking about today, so that is something that needs to be considered as well.
I will move on to the plain packaging side of the story. The history of that is an implementation that was done in Australia. The outcomes were twofold. One, there was a slight reduction in the number of people smoking tobacco. I believe there were 100,000 fewer people smoking tobacco over a three-year period. However, there was an increase in contraband. Australia does not produce its own tobacco. It imports everything. Within that, contraband grew from 10% to 26%. That is concerning, especially when we look at how that compares to Canada.
We have quite a contraband problem in the tobacco industry in Canada. In fact, in Ontario, it is estimated that 40% to 60% of cigarettes sold are contraband. I know in my own riding, there are smoke shops literally everywhere where people can buy illegal contraband tobacco. It is simply not being enforced by the police today. Many of the first nations in my riding are the ones putting forward this product. I understand the sensitivity of that.
If we are going to go to plain packaging, there are consumer health considerations, because there have been numerous complaints about the content of some of this contraband tobacco. We have heard stories about dirt, sweepings, and animal manure. From a quality control point of view, as was pointed out earlier, if a cigarette has absolutely no markings on it, we have no idea if it was made by a well-regulated industry or if it was made in someone's barn. That is a concern for me. We have a lot of regulation in every other area of food and drugs, and this should be no different.
The other thing that is sort of hypocritical on the part of the government has to do with a discussion I participated in on the health committee with respect to marijuana and whether plain packaging would be appropriate for it. To start, organized crime is already participating in this market. There is lovely packaging, with all kinds of colours, and people are becoming brand loyal, especially in the edibles market. The idea was that if plain packaging was introduced, it would not be competitive with what is already in place from organized crime. The discussion was that they would not move to plain packaging.
I do not know how one could make that argument on that side and not on the tobacco side, with a 40% contraband market in Ontario, and I believe, about 30% across the country. That bears a bit of discussion, because what we are really talking about is competing harms. There is the harm reduction we are going to get from going to plain packaging for smoking versus the harm increase from not having quality control for that product, plus the harm from the organized crime interactions. We have to take a bit of a holistic view when we look at that.
A number of organizations are weighing in on this legislation. We looked to the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation for their input on this.
The Canadian Cancer Society said, “We applaud the federal government's commitment to implement plain and standardized packaging for tobacco and are writing to encourage speedy adoption of the regulations. Plain packaging for tobacco products would prevent tobacco companies from using packs as mini billboards promoting tobacco.
“Despite the fact that smoking rates have declined by more than half, tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of disease and death in Canada, killing 37,000 Canadians every year. We're deeply concerned by Canada's unacceptable high rates of smoking, especially among youth.
“Health Canada's tobacco strategy expires in March 18. I urge you to strengthen this strategy through better funding to allow for stronger initiatives and greater impact through modernization of the outdated federal Tobacco Act, that is almost 20 years old, and through the speedy adoption of plain-packaging regulations.”
We see that these organizations see some merit in plain packaging, but obviously, they share similar concerns about controlling quality. It may be that we want to have some kind of government-approved mark on cigarettes that would at least allow the consumer to differentiate between something that is contraband and something that is not. That said, we know that those in organized crime are quite clever, and if we put a mark on something, they could easily copy it. We see that we even have counterfeit money, so that may not fix that concern.
Some of the other things I want to talk about have to do with the recommendations specific to packaging. There was discussion about having an optional alphanumeric code used for product identification. I think it should actually not be optional. It would mean there would be a number system on each cigarette, with letters referring either to Canada or to the province or territory where it is sold, such as AB for Alberta, or CA overall, or CA-ON for Canada-Ontario. Having a set of numbers would be another prevention tactic that could be used to try to keep contraband out of the market. It is worth considering.
Bill S-5 also would not allow the tobacco industry to introduce the harm-reducing products it is coming forward with under the vaping legislation. They would be required to be under the tobacco legislation, which is more onerous, from a product introduction point of view. That includes getting products approved, getting products added to the list, and the amount of scientific evidence businesses have to bring about health and other impacts, including environmental. I would say that there needs to be a fairer playing field between them.
Let us talk a bit about marijuana, because the government is intending to legalize marijuana in July 2018. It seems to me that it is a totally hypocritical approach. We are trying to modernize regulations about smoking, and the Liberals, even though they want to reduce smoking, have added marijuana smoking to the list of things they want to do.
I am certain that the Liberals would want to bring amendments to this bill that would include marijuana so that it is clear, because people are vaping marijuana, and they are smoking marijuana. Both are harmful. The Canadian Medical Association has come out with studies that show the harm to young people as their brains are developing. They see a 30% increase in schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, depression, anxiety, and addiction in young people who consume marijuana once a week. If we are talking about reducing overall harm, it would be a concern to me to bring marijuana into this whole thing. That speaks again to having measures in place to make sure that young people do not get hold of these products.
At convenience stores today, cigarettes are kept behind the counter. People cannot see them. I am not sure that on top of that we actually need plain packaging. People cannot see the packaging, so I do not think those who are smoking are really buying cigarettes on brand loyalty. Considerations that might be important are actually more about regulating size. Companies have started to come out with slender packs of cigarettes, with cigarettes that are skinnier and that come in little ladylike packages. Even if they make the package plain, allowing that different size gives the illusion that somehow smoking will make people skinny. I do not know that this is always true, although we do see quite often that when people stop smoking, they gain weight, so there might be something to it.
I think that is certainly an enticement, and for women who want to carry cigarettes around in their purse, it is quite convenient. It is an incentive to smoke. We want to look at all those things and say that perhaps that is not the right idea.
We also need to give consideration to the existing industry. In Canada, we have a number of tobacco producers, and they have seen job losses over the years. They recognize that eventually we want to eliminate all smoking. However, they have an export business, and there is a demand out there. Therefore, we need to be sensitive to the impact on jobs. One of the questions their representatives asked me when they came to visit had to do with their ability to produce a colourful package to export. It is not clear in this legislation whether that would be allowed, because we would only allow the production of plain packaging. There would have to be some sort of exemption to allow them to continue to supply cigarettes for export. Otherwise, it would hurt their businesses, and obviously there would be job reductions. That is an economic concern.
There are also members who have tobacco growers in their ridings who will be concerned about the impact of any changes that come out of this bill. We need to give consideration to that as well.
There is a lot to consider and discuss in this bill. There are some good things in the bill, such as the fact that the vaping industry would be regulated, and we would be able to put in some protections to make sure that children were not accessing vaping products. We would be able to make sure that retailers that cannot participate in the industry could start to participate, which could be a good outcome.
However, we see that on the plain packaging side, there are a lot of inconsistencies. There is inconsistency in the approach we would use for marijuana versus tobacco. There are concerns about quality control and how we would make sure to protect consumers from contraband versus the well-regulated and quality-controlled production of cigarettes. There is the whole area of the new technology and trying to create a fair playing field for that.
I am impressed to see the tobacco companies coming forward with multiple generations of new products that are not smoked tobacco that are used to get people to ultimately reduce their nicotine intake and get off this drug. However, right now the constraints on them, because they are regulated as smoked tobacco products, are not helping them move in the right direction, which is the direction we want to see people go. We want people to stop smoking. We know that smoking is one of the leading causes of death in Canada. We want to make sure that we do everything we can to help the industry as we transition to products that transition Canadians from smoking.
At the same time, we need to make sure that we do not incentivize young Canadians with the marijuana legislation that is being introduced, which includes the message that kids aged 12 to 17 can possess up to five grams. That is the wrong message. There are a lot of children and young people who do not understand that marijuana is harmful to them. We need to get that public education message out there. We need to make sure that we control all these products so that when they start to be used with marijuana, there are not unintended consequences. I do not think there is a lot of research, for example, on the concentration of marijuana one can vape safely. I think that is an area of concern, especially when we see some of the contaminated supplies of marijuana that exist and that probably will continue to exist.
For all of those reasons, I think there is enough good in this bill that it is worth talking about. However, as members can see, there are a lot of areas of concern that would have to be sorted out at committee. As one of the members of the health committee, I look forward to helping sort through them to see whether we can address these issues and come out with a bill that, at the end of the day, will do more good for Canadians than harm.
Celina Caesar-Chavannes LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the support of my hon. colleague from Sarnia—Lambton and what she has said with respect to what she likes and does not like. As well, she supports the need for regulation, especially when we are talking about protecting our children.
While eight provinces have passed vaping legislation, the approach does not provide a uniform level of protection for Canadians. I am wondering if you can comment on the need for federal leadership to ensure that there is protection across the country, especially when we are considering our children.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
If I could interrupt for a second, I want to remind the hon. member that I am sure she does not want me to reply. I am sure she meant the hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton. I will let her reply.
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, as in many of the areas in health where the federal government has a role in leadership, the provinces begin to march away. They are all well-intentioned, but they end up putting in place things that are different, things that become confusing to folks, those who may be trying to sell products across provinces that have rules. All of these things drive higher costs.
We see this as well even in palliative care, and the member is well aware that I brought in a palliative care bill. The provinces are all starting to implement it, but in different ways. This is where the federal government needs to get involved. We see that now with the vaping market. People are bringing in regulations. We need to bring in regulations and work with the provinces to ensure that we have a clear, standard set of rules to protect the children, that will allow fair competition in this market, and that regulate the market, as we would with anything else.
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. We all know of her interest in health-related issues. I was therefore very surprised to learn that the Conservatives made no mention of tobacco and smoking in their 2015 election platform. I would therefore like to know whether the official opposition thinks it is necessary to strengthen the federal tobacco control strategy, which expires in March. We need to address this issue immediately. If so, what does my colleague believe we should do to strengthen that strategy?
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right. I am very committed to health and health issues. I think that is one of the reasons our new leader has put me in this role.
While I cannot change the past, going forward, we need to continue to work at reducing the number of people who are smoking. I am very proud that over our term, the Conservatives cut in half the number of young people who smoked and reduced the overall levels to where we are today at 13%. That is great progress, but there is always more to do.
We can use all kinds of innovations to get there. The things that we are talking about today, the vaping products and the reduced harm tobacco products, are all part of that.
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the intelligent presentation from my colleague and the many places she went in that discussion.
One of the areas she touched a little on was marketing. As we have seen with marijuana, it has been marketed and labelled in many different ways. Here is an example of legislation that would market it differently and control it from a federal level.
As the marijuana piece is being rolled out and the provinces, as the member said, are doing things in different ways, would this be an opportunity to say to the government that it has done it one way with that piece of legislation, so why would it not do it another way with the legislation in front of us?
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, that excellent question points out that we are in a situation where we need some consistency in our message.
I talked about the discussion on marijuana and that we could not have plain packaging because it was not competitive with organized crime. Therefore, to have a different view on tobacco is totally hypocritical.
It even expands beyond that. Pieces of legislation are coming forward in which we will want to talk about whether we can advertise pop or unhealthy foods. However, at the same time, we are advertising alcohol products, such as beer ads, where children are located. Alcohol is allowed to be advertised much more freely.
There is no consistency in the government's approach, and there ought to be. We ought to put some thought and consideration into that.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, one of the things we need to emphasize during the debate is that there has been significant progress over the years. A lot of that progress has been taken by young people who have become engaged in the debate.
Today, I could go to the high schools of R. B. Russell, Maples, Sisler, St. John's High School, or Children of the Earth and talk to some of these students and they would be very aware of issues such as this. We can never do enough to encourage young people to get engaged on this debate.
Would the member provide some of her thoughts on the positive impact of young people understanding the importance of the health risks of smoking, and acknowledge and applaud the many efforts of so many of those young leaders who do a fantastic job in getting peers to recognize the health consequences of smoking?
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is absolutely right. Public awareness and education directed at young people is very effective. I am not sure if any members in the House are old enough to remember the ads that used to be run. They showed pictures of red healthy lungs and really dark black smoker's lungs. Those ads were presented to us in health class, and it was very effective education for me as a young person about what would happen to my lungs if I smoked.
We need to embark on that same kind of public education. A consistent effort needs to be put into educating the public. We might have put in a lot of effort into at the beginning, but we have moved away from it now.
It is time to bring that forward, and this is an excellent opportunity to do so. The government just awarded a contract to create public awareness and education for the marijuana rollout. It needs to happen before marijuana gets legalized, so we can ensure people have the new mindset that smoking is harmful and that they understand the harm before we go ahead.
This is absolutely a key way to keep young people now and in the future from wanting to smoke at all.
Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
Mr. Speaker, the speech by my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton seemed to cover the gamut of the issues here.
One of the concerns she has raised, and I share it, is the contradictions in the government's message to young people. Maybe she could elaborate a bit more on this.
For decades now, the Government of Canada has invested millions of dollars in educating young Canadians on why they should not smoke. Most young Canadians learned in high school, junior high school, and even in primary school, that smoking was bad for them.
However, the government has a contradiction on the books, which is how it deals with marijuana. The government would allow young Canadians to possess at the age of 12. To the best of my knowledge, children are not allowed to purchase cigarettes at that age.
How can my colleague, and hopefully encouraging the government to follow suit, ensure that young Canadians are best educated on how marijuana, just like cigarettes, is bad for them? How can we make them understand that for their long-term future, they should not follow the lead of the government in thinking marijuana is okay? It really is a dangerous drug.