Canada takes cigarette warnings to another level of extremism proposing the inclusion of health warning messages printed on each individual stick of cigarettes and cigars.
Canada is about to become the first country in the world to mandate that every individual cigarette and cigar feature “health-related messages that are memorable, noticeable, and impactful” on each cigarette, covering at least 75% of the surface area.
The move adds to Canada's rule that graphic photo warnings be included on tobacco product packaging, a policy that sparked an international trend when it was implemented two decades ago.
“We need to address the concern that these messages may have lost their novelty, and to an extent we worry that they may have lost their impact as well. Adding health warnings on individual tobacco products will help ensure that these essential messages reach people, including the youth who often access cigarettes one at a time in social situations, sidestepping the information printed on a package,” addictions minister Carolyn Bennett said.
According to Bennett, the warning proposed for each cigarette or cigar is, “Poison in every puff.”
Warnings on tobacco packaging are also proposed to extend to a longer list of other health impacts including stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, and peripheral vascular disease. Photo warnings on tobacco packs have not been changed in a decade.
The government expects the new rules to come into effect in the latter half of 2023. If implemented, the new regulations would cost tobacco companies around C$180 million over the next 10 years to implement the additional labels.