Finance committee  Yes. There are seals on tobacco products in Canada to serve that exact purpose.

Finance committee  I have.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  The federal government's revenue from tobacco taxes is $3 billion a year.

Finance committee  That's right, the funding for the federal tobacco strategy is currently about $33 million a year.

Finance committee  The most striking comparison is in the United States where federal investments in tobacco control are twice per capita what they are here in Canada.

Finance committee  In terms of advertising...?

Finance committee  Yes, there is actually no federal support currently for public awareness or advertising available because the funds have been so restricted. And it has also restricted the government's ability, for instance, to develop new legislation and to keep on top of regulations because the

Finance committee  I think generally there is no question that there is a collection of measures that are important to combine. The taxes themselves have been an enormously effectively measure to discourage smoking because as the cost has gone up that has caused a lot of people to quit. Measures

Finance committee  It isn't spelled out in the brief. We're giving some flexibility for exactly what we think should be spent. We think that the strategy should be returned to its original target budget, which was about $100 million a year. It's currently $38 million.

Finance committee  It's a bit tricky separating all of the factors and attributing to any one of them, but I can tell you that Canada began a historic turnaround in smoking rates about 30 years ago. The federal government's commitment to that strategy also accompanied actions on a number of fronts.

Finance committee  Federal leadership has been key.

Finance committee  Well, today, about 18% of Canadians are smokers.

Finance committee  With respect, I'm not even going to answer the question, because the comparison that's being drawn would be deeply misleading. The fact of the matter is that an enormous number of things have been done to reduce smoking, and if the suggestion is that we can do as good a job savin

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to be here. Most of the time, I will speak English. However, if you put questions to me in French, I will do my best to answer in that language. It's my privilege to be here on behalf of the Cancer Society, which is the country's large