Each cigarette sold in Canada will have to include an individual health warning that...
Digital Desk: Each cigarette sold in Canada will have to include an individual health warning that "cigarettes cause impotence" and cancer and that there is "poison in every puff" under new rules that came into effect on Tuesday (local time).
The new regulations, which were first announced in May, are a world first.
King-size cigarettes with the new individual labels are likely to be available in stores within a year, followed by regular-size cigarettes in early 2025.
The warning cautions will be "Virtually unavoidable and, together with updated graphic images displayed on the package, will provide a real and startling reminder of the health consequences of smoking," Canada's former addictions minister, Carolyn Bennett, previously said.
The Canadian government noted that some young people, who were particularly vulnerable to the risk of tobacco dependence, began smoking after being handed a single cigarette rather than a pack labeled with health warnings.
To raise awareness of the health risks linked with tobacco smoking, Canada became the first country to impose graphic warnings on packs of cigarettes in 2000, including horrific depictions of damaged hearts and lungs.
Over the last two decades, smoking has been declining.
However, according to government data, tobacco use continues to kill 48,000 Canadians each year, and substance abuse accounts for over half of the country's healthcare costs.
Ottawa plans to reduce the number of smokers in the country to 5% of the population, or about 2 million people, by 2035, from about 13% now.
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