Warnings to be printed on individual cigarettes in Canada in a world first

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Key Points
  • Tobacco use continues to kill 48,000 Canadians each year.
  • The labelling rule announced in May aims to further crack down on smoking.
  • Canada is the country in the world to launch this initiative
Each cigarette sold in Canada effective Tuesday now comes with an individual health warning that “cigarettes cause impotence” and cancer, and that there is “poison in every puff”.

The labelling rule announced in May aims to further crack down on smoking and is a world first.

Canada’s then-addictions minister, Carolyn Bennett, had said the new warning labels, which will be in English and French, would 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.”

Graphic illustrations to explain the risks of cancer

In 2000, Canada became the first country to order graphic warnings on packs of cigarettes. Source: Supplied / Health Canada

The Canadian government noted that some young people, who are particularly susceptible to the risk of tobacco dependence, start smoking after being given a single cigarette rather than a pack labelled with health warnings.

In 2000, Canada became the first country to order graphic warnings on packs of cigarettes — including grisly pictorials of diseased hearts and lungs — to raise awareness of the health hazards associated with tobacco use.
Smoking has been trending down over the past two decades.
But, according to government data, tobacco use continues to kill 48,000 Canadians each year, and almost half of the country’s healthcare costs are linked to substance use.

Ottawa aims to further reduce the number of smokers in the country to five per cent of the population, or about 2 million people, by 2035 – from about 13 per cent currently.

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