Canada, in a world first, proposes health warnings on every cigarette in bid to curb smoking
- Canada has required photo warnings be placed on cigarette packets since the turn of the millennium, but the images haven’t been updated in a decade
- Canada’s government anticipates the changes will come into force in the latter half of 2023
Canada is poised to become the first country in the world to require that a warning be printed on every cigarette.
The move builds on Canada’s mandate to include graphic photo warnings on tobacco products’ packaging – a policy that started an international trend when it was introduced 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,” Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett said at a news conference on Friday.
“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.”
The government anticipates the changes coming into force in the latter half of 2023.
While the exact messaging printed on cigarettes could change, Bennett said the current proposal is: “Poison in every puff.”