Kelowna 
In a groundbreaking move, Canada becomes the first country to mandate health warnings printed directly on individual cigarettes, announced Carolyn Bennett, Minister for Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, on World No Tobacco Day.
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This bold measure is part of the new Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations, demonstrating Canada’s continued efforts towards mitigating nicotine addiction, helping smokers quit, and protecting non-tobacco users, particularly youth.
The regulations mandate labelling the tipping paper of various tobacco products, including cigarettes and little cigars, making it virtually impossible for consumers to overlook health warnings. This novel approach bolsters Canada’s Tobacco Strategy aiming for a tobacco use rate below 5% by 2035.
Per the news release, the enforcement of these regulations commences on August 1, 2023, with phased implementation across a year. By April 2024, tobacco packages featuring updated health messages will hit the market. King size cigarettes with individual warnings will appear first, being retailed by the end of July 2024, followed by other tobacco products by April 2025.
The new measures also entail augmenting and updating health messages on tobacco packaging, extending these requirements to all tobacco product packages, and initiating a periodic rotation of messages.
These steps buttress the objectives of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA), with the second legislative review currently in progress, focusing on enhancing public awareness of tobacco-related health hazards. In preparation for this, Health Canada will soon launch public consultations.
Canada first introduced pictorial warning requirements for tobacco packaging in 2000 to amplify awareness of tobacco-related health hazards. Current health messages and images have been in place for cigarettes and little cigars since 2011, while those for most other tobacco products haven’t changed since their introduction in 2000.
The full regulations will be published in the June 7, 2023, edition of the Canada Gazette – Part II.
