Hope for deadly smoking addiction; federal Tobacco Act amendment on the anvil

The Canadian Lung Association today congratulated Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and all Parliamentarians on the passage of Bill C-32, an Act to Amend the federal Tobacco Act. The passage of the Act is a key win in the fight against smoking and the tobacco industry.

"We congratulate the Prime Minister, the Health Minister and all Parliamentarians on the passage of this important piece of legislation," said Heather Borquez, President and CEO of The Lung Association, "This Bill means that the tobacco industry will no longer be able to use fruit-flavoured poison to lure Canada's youth into a deadly smoking addiction"

Once the Bill is given Royal Assent, the federal Tobacco Act will:

- Mandate that cigarillos and blunt wraps be sold in packages of no less than 20;

- Ban the use of flavours and additives in tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigarillos and blunt wraps (cigar rolling paper);

- Prohibit the graphic description or depiction of flavours in tobacco; and,

- Ban all tobacco advertising and promotion in print and electronic media that may be viewed and read by youth.

"It has been 12 years since the Tobacco Act was revised and during that time the tobacco industry has used creative manipulation such as chocolate and raspberry flavoured cigarillos to entice Canada's youth," said Paul Thomey, Chair of Tobacco Policy for The Lung Association, "Today's passage of the Bill signifies a victory for our children's lung health and a defeat for Big Tobacco".

An estimated 37,000 Canadians will die this year from smoking-related diseases and approximately 1,000 die annually from second-hand smoke. Smoking and tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of lung disease and death in Canada. Presently in Canada, nearly 1 in five (19%) of Canadians are smokers.

Over the course of the last three and a half years, Canada has seen noticeable progress on improving the lung health of Canadians. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister and the Government of Canada, there has been funding for the National Lung Health Framework, Canada's first-ever action plan on lung health, stronger tobacco control measures and a willingness to work with The Lung Association and key stakeholders on strengthening regulations around clean air so that Canadians can breathe easier.