It follows the inclusion of graphic photographic warnings on tobacco packaging – a policy that started an international trend when it was introduced two decades ago. The United Kingdom introduced the same in 2008. Canadian Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Carolyn Bennett said a new impetus was needed because the photographs “may have lost their innovation … and may have lost their impact”. He said adding health warnings to individual cigarettes would ensure that the messages reached people, including young people who “often access cigarettes one at a time in social situations, bypassing the information printed on a package”. A consultation period for the proposed change is about to begin and the government expects the changes to take effect in the second half of 2023. While the exact messages printed on the cigarettes could change, Ms Bennett said the current proposal was: “Poison in every puff”. He also revealed extensive warnings about cigarette packs that include a longer list of the health effects of smoking, including stomach cancer, colon cancer, diabetes and peripheral vascular disease. Canada has demanded photo warnings since the turn of the millennium, but the images have not been updated for a decade. Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society, said he hoped the cigarette print warnings would become as popular internationally as the packet warnings. “This will set a global precedent,” he said, adding that no other country has implemented such regulations. Read more Legal age one can buy cigarettes in England “should increase by one year each year” How many people smoke these days – and the British smoke more than the French? The move also garnered praise from Geoffrey Fong, a professor at the University of Waterloo and lead researcher on the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project. “This is a really potentially strong intervention that will enhance the impact of health warnings,” he said. Smoking rates are steadily declining in Canada. The latest Statistics Canada data released last month show that 10% of Canadians reported smoking regularly. The government seeks to halve this interest rate by 2035.
