this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2023
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Canada will be the first nation to start printing warnings directly onto individual cigarettes in a bid to deter young people from starting smoking and encourage others to quit.

The warnings, which will be in English and French, will include phrases like "Cigarettes cause cancer" and "Poison in every puff".

The new regulations go into effect on Tuesday.

Starting next year, Canadians will begin to see the new warning labels.

By July 2024 manufacturers will have to ensure the warnings are on all king-size cigarettes sold, and by April 2025 all regular-size cigarettes and little cigars with tipping paper and tubes must include the warnings.

The phrases will appear by the filter, including warnings about harming children, damaging organs and causing impotence and leukaemia.

In May, Health Canada said the new regulations "will make it virtually impossible to avoid health warnings" on tobacco products.

A second set of six phrases is expected to be printed on cigarettes in 2026.

The move is part of Canada's effort to reduce tobacco use to less than 5% by 2035 and follows a 75-day public consultation period that was launched last year.

Canada has required the printing of warning labels on cigarette packages since 1989 and in 2000 the country adopted pictorial warning requirements for tobacco product packages.

Health Canada said it plans to expand on warnings by printing additional warning labels inside the packages themselves, and introducing a new external warning messages.

Dr Robert Schwartz, of the University of Toronto, told BBC News it was good news that Canada was "moving forward with this innovation".

"Health warnings on individual cigarettes will likely push some people who smoke to make a quit attempt and may prevent some young people from starting to smoke," he said.

He also pointed to New Zealand, which has introduced very low nicotine cigarettes, as a leader in limiting the use of tobacco.

Mr Schwartz added: "These are the kinds of measures needed if we are serious about decreasing tobacco use."

Tobacco use continues to kill 48,000 Canadians each year.

"Tobacco use continues to be one of Canada's most significant public health problems, and is the country's leading preventable cause of disease and premature death in Canada," Public Services Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has previously said.

The Canadian Cancer Society, Canada's Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Lung Association have all praised the warning labels, saying they hope the measures will deter people, especially young people, from taking up smoking in the first place.

Cigarette smoking is widely regarded as a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke.

In Canada, the rate of smokers aged 15 years or older is around 10%, according to a national 2021 Tobacco and Nicotine survey but electronic cigarette use has been on the rise.

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[–] Twisting0347@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

"Poison in every Puff"

Don't threaten me with a good time!

Joking aside, I'm fairly ambivalent about this as a smoker. I hope it helps people avoid smoking but not sure how effective these warnings are.

[–] ShakeThatYam@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I quit smoking almost a decade ago. But I feel like if I was still smoking this would only make me want to smoke more. Watching the warnings slowly burn away would be relaxing.

[–] doppelgangmember@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

They fked up

They should've printed anatomical lungs on the cigarette that showed them getting darker with soot as the cig burns

More ominous and a picture is worth a 1000 words. And some ppl dont/cant read tbf

[–] janus2@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Former smoker. The specific medical warnings are good imo. "Poison in every puff" is a little too goofy and my inner teenager reaction is just "hell yeah" hahaha. Which is funny, but also counterproductive.

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Though if it just means it costs the cigarette companies a bit more to produce each cigarette and makes it harder for them to divert inventory for one market to another if their predictions turn out not so good, that's still a win.

Though, now I'm suddenly wondering why cigarette company profits aren't taxed at like 90%.

[–] Spendrill@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

Long time ago my brand was Death cigarettes. The pack had a skull on it and a portion of the price of packet went to cancer research. I knew that smoking was bad idea but it was an excellent drug delivery system.

[–] OminousHum@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I bet it would be a lot more effective if they just printed a penis down the length of every cigarette.

[–] BeigeAgenda@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 years ago

Wouldn't it make smoking more cool?

[–] jacktherippah@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

If they ignored the warning on the pack, they're gonna ignore these too.

[–] Touching_Grass@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Maybe "they" will. Worked on me though. Took sometime but after years of the warnings it finally sunk into me how dumb smoking was and I quit. Some people are not reachable but the anti smoking campaign is working because we've seen huge reduction in smokers since its started

[–] Shard@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Education and awareness isn't the only reason we see less smokers.

Less harmful alternatives with the ability to allow users to taper off have now become common place.

[–] Adeptfuckup@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Agreed, it's a very stupid idea. They should print 'Known by the state of California to cause cancer' just to drive home how incredibly stupid this idea is.

[–] solidsnake2085@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

My friend from Canada comes to visit and is a smoker. She brings packs with her and the entire pack is covered in warnings and pictures. I asked her if it bothers her and and she said, "I don't even notice them anymore." I highly doubt putting a warning on each cigarette is going to do anything.

[–] Polar@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

People who have lung cancer continue to smoke in the hospital. Alcoholics continue to drink, even after massive accidents.

People addicted to things don't care.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

It's not that they don't care, it's that they can't stop.

[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

If the ink causes cancer...

[–] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 years ago

It will cancel out the cancer from smoking. /s

[–] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago
[–] Not_Reddit@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Could someone smart enlighten me on why cigarettes continue to be allowed to be sold if we know that it causes cancer and costs the healthcare system millions (billions?) each year? I know we can't suddenly stop production overnight but can't they gradually putting a stricter ban on it until it's almost impossible to get? Is it smokers being too addicted? Is it tobacco lobby being too strong?

[–] tdawg@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Remember prohibition?

[–] Achaeminus@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Optionally we can do (worldwide) what Australia does: an additional 65% tax.

[–] kokesh@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago

Is the paint cancerous?