• Canada to be the first country to put health warnings on individual cigarettes

    International
    Canada to be the first country to put health warnings on individual cigarettes
    These labels would be printed on the tipping paper of individual cigarettes, small cigars, tubes, and other tobacco products, which is the outermost paper of the filter section. The instructions would be written in both English and French.

    Digital Desk: Canada has issued a legislation that will soon
    mandate health warnings to be put on individual cigarettes, making it the first
    country to do so as it tries to cut tobacco smoking to less than 5% by 2035.

    "Tobacco smoke harms children." "Cigarettes cause
    leukaemia." "Poison is in every puff."- Such health warnings
    would soon be posted on every cigarette sold in Canada.

    "The new Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging, and Labelling
    Regulations will be part of the Government of Canada's continued efforts to
    help adults who smoke quit, protect youth and non-tobacco users from nicotine
    addiction, and further reduce the appeal of tobacco," Canadian health
    officials said in a news release on Wednesday.

    These labels would be printed
    on the tipping paper of individual cigarettes, small cigars, tubes, and other
    tobacco products, which is the outermost paper of the filter section. The
    instructions would be written in both English and French.

    Can be used to discourage
    smoking

    Officials feel that such a
    programme would make it practically impossible for smokers to disregard health
    warnings.

    "The new Tobacco
    Products Appearance, Packaging, and Labelling Regulations will be part of the
    Government of Canada's ongoing efforts to help adults who smoke quit, protect
    youth and non-tobacco users from nicotine addiction, and further reduce the appeal
    of tobacco," the statement read.

    The new restrictions would go into force on
    August 1, but the official stated that they will be implemented in stages.

     Retailers selling tobacco product packages
    must include the new warnings by the end of April 2024; king-size cigarettes
    must include the warnings by the end of July 2024, followed by regular-sized
    cigarettes and other products by the end of April 2025, according to the news
    release.

    A welcome move
    The move was applauded by health organisations such as the
    Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Lung Association, and Heart and Stroke
    Foundation, among others.

    "It's going to mean that there's going to be a warning with
    every cigarette, every puff, and it's going to be there during every smoke
    break," Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer
    Society, told CTV News Channel.

    The three national health organisations released an open
    statement on Monday urging Canada's premiers to fight for smoking-reduction
    efforts amid settlement negotiations with big tobacco corporations.