Canada mulls warning on each cigarette

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 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.”

A consultation period for the proposed change is set to begin Saturday, and 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.”

Bennett also revealed expanded warnings for cigarette packages that include a longer list of smoking’s health effects, including stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, and peripheral vascular disease.

Canada has required the photo warnings since the turn of the millennium, but the images haven’t been updated in a decade.

Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society, said he hopes the warnings printed directly on cigarettes become popular internationally, just like the package warnings did.