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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.
Is this really necessary? Aren’t most smokers, y’know, aware of the dangers of smoking by now? At some point I wonder if the warnings will get annoying enough that people will start to actively defy them out of spite instead of just passively ignoring them.
The constant barrage of negativity and warnings may help keep kids from picking it up.
Kids aren’t picking it up though. They’re going to vapes. Which are probably just as bad.
As I understand it, vapes are in theory not as bad, however the significant increase nicotine consumption far offsets any of that.
Kind of depends on the vape, the chemicals in the cartridges and how hot they get.
Generally speaking though, inhaling chemical aerosols into your lungs is bad. Most of the “it’s better” research is brought to you by the vaping industry itself . “No, no, it’s totally harmless. Honest!”
I think a lot of it comes down to the subjective experience of ex smokers. It feels better. Not coughing black, no struggling to breathe jogging, etc.
Could we find out later that they’re just as likely to cause an early death? Who knows, but it still feels better than the alternative.
Exactly. Inhaling anything other than oxygen is bad for your lungs. Vapes are definitely bad. They might not be bad in the same exact way cigarettes are, but that doesn’t make them any better.
Even pure oxygen is generally not recommended- it’s you know… oxidizing….
But like yeah. Sorry for being a pedant
Just don’t. Seriously, what’s the purpose of being like that?
I personally think it’s a neat little tid-bit. It adds to the conversation, and it’s information that a lot of people probably don’t know. They weren’t being rude, harsh, or condescending. They were just sharing something they know about the topic.
I could ask you your own question lol.
The lack of any real controls on what goes into vape fluid is a concern. Also, breathing glycol into your lungs can’t be great for them. Studies seem to vary on that, but breathing anything but air isn’t good, just like drinking anything but water isn’t great (I’m big hypocrite on that one though) On the whole probably still not as bad as cigarettes.
Oh I’m a big hypocrite in the smoking regard. I smoke weed fairly regularly, and will occasionally vape for the first bit of a T break.
It’s all at best not great for you
If I remember correctly propylene glycol is used in inhalers. So it really shouldn’t be that bad.
Nicotine by itself isn’t really that bad, as it isn’t much of a carcinogen. The sharp increase of nicotine in vapes is troubling though, as although it isn’t much of a carcinogen, it does increase risk of heart disease and can lead to hardening of the heart in the long run.
Not as bad is still bad.
Like saying “instead of drinking a glass of poison, I just drink half of a glass. Its better for my health.”
Where did I claim otherwise
You didn’t. I didn’t say you did.
I just built on your comment.
I apologise for the misunderstanding.
Mixing drinks with half shots is technically better for your health than full shots.
This is a stupid way to view the world. Its not a binary of “good” and “bad” like Drinking the poison is bad for you, but so is drinking a diet coke. To not acknowledge the difference in how bad they are is idiotic.
Alright. I get your point. It is hard to consider it, sadly, because you offend me presenting it. Let me explain:
Calling someone’s opinion stupid is disrespectful and dismissive. It never leads to a productive discussion. Calling someone’s opinion stupid may shut down any further discussion or exchange of ideas, as it implies that the other person’s thoughts and opinions aren’t worth a penny.
Instead of calling someone’s opinion stupid, it is much more productive to engage in a respectful conversation. A conversation that tries to understand each other’s perspective - even and especially if we don’t agree. This is how truth and wisdom are often born. At the very least such a discussion leads to a more productive exchange of ideas and a better understanding of each other’s viewpoints.
Agree with someone or not, but respect others. Surely we all deserve at least that.
Edit: spelling & some clarity
You’re working under the assumption I’m trying to get you to consider my point in an attempt to change your opinion or at least argue with you.
But I’m not.
Fair enough. Sad that you don’t worry if you offend.
Shame, too. You made a good point, although I don’t fully agree. Sadly it is shouted into a void of your own making.
Many Kids are still picking up smoking cigarettes though.
usually by way of vaping. teens only really start with cigarettes or other tobacco if their parents smoke, these days. And for the record, you can get addicted to nicotine off 2nd hand smoke if your around it enough.
Vaping is the “cool” thing to do now.
Citation needed. The health departments aren’t throwing money at this for no reason.
mayo clinic
American council on science and health
Vaping was seen as a way to harm reduction and break nicotine addiction, because it was thought to lack the harmful chemicals found in tobacco (all tobacco is insanely toxic.)
Most of that thought came from industry-funded “studies”, similar to how tobacco funded big studies showing it was perfectly safe.
To be clear, there are no studies linking vaping to lung cancer because it’s too new a product to actually collect that data. So anyone telling you it doesn’t is full of shit.
That said, the risk profile on such a timescale is probably just as bad. Particularly if you include the kids that died from embolism hitting up dank thc cartridges.
They have ONE idea to stop people smoking and by god they’re gonna use it
Lots of smokers ive known usually wear the dangers as a badge of pride in their knowing
Most smokers are not thrilled about being alive in the first place.
Or is that just me?
nailed it
It’s similar to commercials and ads. Everyone thinks they are not affected by such things, but pretty much everyone is affected by them on a subconscious level. Why would companies such as coca cola spend millions of dollars on advertisements? After all, virtually everyone already knows what coca cola is.