Backgrounder: New Tobacco Labelling Regulations

September 2011

News Release: Harper Government takes action with tough new warning messages for tobacco products

On September 22, 2011 (TBC), three new Tobacco Act regulations came into force that will strengthen package labelling requirements for tobacco products.

The new requirements under the Tobacco Products Labelling Regulations (Cigarettes and Little Cigars) include:

• 16 new graphic health warning messages covering 75% of the front and back of cigarette and little cigar packaging;
• 8 new health information messages on the inside of packs, enhanced with colour and graphics; and
• 4 new and easy-to-understand toxic emissions statements on the sides of packs.

The new health warnings feature, for the first time, compelling stories from people affected by tobacco use, such as the late anti-smoking activist Barb Tarbox.

Other warnings feature diseases that have been linked to smoking or second-hand smoke:

 

The messages include a variety of styles and approaches, tailored for different segments of the population.

Also, each health warning includes a new pan-Canadian, toll-free quitline number and web portal address You Can Quit Smoking. We Can Help, a collaboration between the federal, provincial and territorial governments. The quitline seamlessly links smokers with smoking cessation services in their respective province or territory, while the "portal" is a page on the Healthy Canadians website that directs users to web-based quit smoking resources in their province or territory, or on Health Canada's website.

The labelling requirements under the Tobacco Products Information Regulations (TPIR) will continue to apply to other tobacco products. New Regulations Amending the Tobacco Products Information Regulations remove numerical values from toxic emissions statements for these products, removing a confusing and potentially misleading source of information.

Also now in force are the Promotion of Tobacco Products and Accessories Regulations (Prohibited Terms), which prohibit the terms "light" and "mild", and variations thereof, on tobacco products. This follows up on a voluntary ban agreed to between cigarette manufacturers and the Competition Bureau, and will permanently remove these misleading terms from cigarettes, little cigars and various other tobacco products and accessories.

Click here for more information on the new Tobacco Product Labelling.