A fresh set of Health Canada regulations that require warning labels on individual cigarettes is set to come into effect Tuesday.

The move, announced earlier this year, makes Canada the first country in the world to take that step in the ongoing effort to help smokers kick the habit and deter potential puffers from picking it up.

The wording on every cigarette, written in English and French on the paper around the filter, ranges from warnings about harming children and damaging organs to causing impotence and leukemia. B次元官网网址淧oison in every puff,B次元官网网址� cautions one.

The labels will dissuade teens leaning toward taking up the habit and push nicotine-dependent parents looking to fight it, predicted Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society.

B次元官网网址淔or youth who experiment by B次元官网网址榖orrowingB次元官网网址� a cigarette from a friend, itB次元官网网址檚 going to mean they will see the cigarettes B次元官网网址� even if they may not see the package B次元官网网址� where the warnings appear,B次元官网网址� he said in a telephone interview. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going to prompt discussion, including by smokers during smoke breaks: B次元官网网址榃hat warning have you got today?B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淥ften itB次元官网网址檚 kids who are urging their parents to quit, and this provides new information and messaging,B次元官网网址� Cunningham said.

Dozens of studies in Canada and elsewhere show the effectiveness of printing warnings on each cigarette, he noted.

Tobacco use continues to be one of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 most significant public health problems and is the countryB次元官网网址檚 leading preventable cause of disease and premature death, then-health minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a May 31 statement announcing the new warning labels.

Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are banned in Canada and warnings on cigarette packs have existed since 1972.

In 2001, Canada became the first country to require tobacco companies to print pictorial warnings on the outside of cigarette packages and include inserts with health-promoting messages.

More than 130 countries have followed suit, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Not all smokers view the escalating warnings favourably.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think that will really change much. A lot of people will continue to smoke,B次元官网网址� said Giovany Lincourt. B次元官网网址淲hen I see a photo of a black lung, it hits me, but I still continue because itB次元官网网址檚 a bad habit.B次元官网网址�

The 40-year-old Montrealer, who sampled his first cigarette at age 16, said still higher taxes would make a better deterrent. A pack of 25 typically costs between $11 and $16, depending on the brand and province.

B次元官网网址淚t hurts the wallet, because it costs $400, $500 a month,B次元官网网址� Lincourt said.

Organizations funded by tobacco companies have opposed the push toward stronger messaging, including the latest step.

The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco warned in June that cheaper, colourful black-market packs free of health warnings B次元官网网址� federal rules ban packaging that includes brand colours or trademarks B次元官网网址� attract young smokers and funnel more money to organized crime.

Much of the coalitionB次元官网网址檚 funding comes from the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council, made up of three of the biggest cigarette companies active in Canada: Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., Imperial Tobacco Canada and JTI-Macdonald Corp.

While big tax hikes or outright sales bans would indeed benefit the black market, gradual price boosts and more strident messaging can bring down smoking rates, Cunningham said.

B次元官网网址淭he only real reason that they can oppose something is because itB次元官网网址檚 going to have a reduction in sales B次元官网网址� and that is exactly the point,B次元官网网址� he said of the manufacturers.

King-size cigarettes will be the first to feature the warnings and will be sold in stores by the end of July 2024, followed by regular-size cigarettes and little cigars with tipping paper and tubes by the end of April 2025, Health Canada said in May. Blunt statements, including B次元官网网址淭obacco smoke harms childrenB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淐igarettes cause cancer,B次元官网网址� will be among the first six messages.

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

The Canadian Cancer Society and other advocacy groups are calling for a comprehensive strategy of beefed-up taxation, legislation and programming to bring down smoking rates B次元官网网址� Health CanadaB次元官网网址檚 goal is less than five per cent of the 15-plus population by 2035. Price promotions and flavoured products B次元官网网址� allowed in some provinces B次元官网网址� should be banned, Cunningham said.

In May, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association and the Heart and Stroke Foundation published an open letter to premiers of all 10 provinces saying they should push for efforts to reduce smoking during settlement negotiations with three major tobacco companies that they sued years ago to recoup health-care costs.

Provinces are collectively seeking $500 billion in damages, and the three advocacy groups said at least 10 per cent of the money from a settlement should go toward smoking cessation efforts.

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