Tobacco control – what we’re fighting for right now

Ban all flavoured tobacco products

Bill C-32 made important progress by banning flavoured cigarettes, blunt wraps and little cigars as of July 2010. But menthol cigarettes and many flavoured tobacco products remain on the market. Water pipe tobacco (also known as shisha or hookah), smokeless tobacco and bidis are available in fruit and candy flavours. These products strongly appeal to youth and young adults. Health Minister Rona Ambrose should bring forward a regulation to ban all flavoured tobacco products –as Brazil has done, effective September 2013.

Renew health warnings for all tobacco products

As of June, 2012, a new series of picture health warnings were required to cover 75% of the package front and back for cigarettes and some little cigars. Canada’s new warnings are among the best in the world but many product categories are not covered by these regulations. As a next step, Health Minister Ambrose should renew warnings for all other tobacco products. Warnings for roll-your-own tobacco, smokeless tobacco, cigars and pipe tobacco have not been changed since 2001. Well-designed health warnings are effective at increasing awareness and decreasing tobacco use.

Implement plain packaging

Tobacco companies have used product packaging as an effective marketing strategy to depict positive lifestyle images, convey deceptive messages and detract from health warnings. The Society has long called for plain packaging to end the use of packaging as a promotional tool. Health Minister Ambrose should take steps to implement plain packaging. Australia became the first country to implement plain packaging as of December, 2012

Increase tobacco taxes

Increasing the price of cigarettes is one of the most effective ways to encourage smokers to quit and to prevent youth from starting to use tobacco. A price increase of 10% will generally result in a decrease in consumption of 4%. Federal tobacco taxes have not increased since 2002, meaning that real tobacco tax rates have in effect decreased due to inflation. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty should start to increase tobacco taxes, following the lead of all provinces.

Support for Manitobans

Tobacco is a leading cause of cancer death in Manitoba. While the number of Manitobans using tobacco products has declined over time, the rate of decline has slowed and one-in-five Manitobans continues to smoke – one of the highest rates in Canada. The Cancer Society in Manitoba has a number of initiatives to reduce smoking and exposure to second hand smoke.

The Canadian Cancer Society’s Smokers’ Helpline and smokershelpline.ca supported 1,613 Manitobans who wanted information about and help to quit smoking last year. In 2011, the Cancer Society representatives also met with and persuaded the provincial government to cover the cost of Champix. Coverage of the proven effective smoking cessation drug was approved in 2012.

The Cancer Society also works in Manitoba to encourage smokers to quit and discourage people from starting in the first place. Research shows that a 10% increase on the price of cigarettes can result in a 4% reduction in the consumption of tobacco products. With the support of the Canadian Cancer Society, the provincial government has increased tobacco taxes every year for the last five. Tobacco taxes today are:

Cigarettes - 25.0¢ ($50.00 per carton)
Cigars - 75% of retail selling price (maximum tax $5.00 per cigar)
Raw leaf tobacco - 22.5¢ per gram
Fine cut tobacco and all other tobacco products - 24.0¢ per gram

Investing in tobacco control

Manitoba has historically had one of the lowest investments in tobacco control spending. In 2011 the Canadian Cancer Society convinced the government to promise to increase the amount it was investing to help Manitobans go tobacco free to 2% of tobacco taxes or about $5 million a year. This was agreed to after the Cancer Society pointed out that the government was collecting more than $250 million in tobacco taxes but spending less than $1 million to help people quit. Holding the provincial government to this promise will result in Manitoba moving from one of the lowest per capital funders of tobacco control in the country to one of the highest.

Reduce smoking in public places

In 2011 the Cancer Society engaged all municipalities in initiatives to expand smoking bans in public places. Having met with members of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities to discuss outdoor smoking and provided them with a template best-practices by-law, the Society was pleased when Stonewall became the first community to enact this bylaw in 2011.

In 2012, Winnipeg City Council passed a by-law banning smoking on or around outdoor sports venues, playgrounds and other children’s play structures. Later in the year, the Assiniboine Zoo also put in place a smoking ban in all public areas except in a specifically designated zone.