Health Canada
www.hc-sc.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Report to the Conference of the Parties on the Implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Some of the following hyperlinks are to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the 
Official Languages Act. The material found there is therefore in the language(s) used by the sites in question.
Part IV: Legislative, executive, administrative and other measures
4. Regulation of the contents of tobacco products
The federal Tobacco Reporting Regulations and the Regulations Amending the Tobacco Reporting Regulations (Appendix 3-E-4) outline reporting requirements for all manufacturers and importers of tobacco. In addition to requiring reports on ingredients, constituents, emissions and toxicity from designated tobacco products the Regulations mandate how often and in what format reports should be submitted.
The Tobacco Products Information Regulations (Appendix 3-E-3) set out the information that manufacturers are required to display on tobacco packaging. In addition to the graphic health warnings found on the principal display surface of most smoked products, manufacturers are required to display health information on tips and benefits of quitting smoking and information on toxic emissions and toxic constituents.
The Cigarette Ignition Propensity Regulations (Appendix 3-E-5) require that manufacturers ensure "that the cigarette of every brand that it manufactures on or after October 1, 2005 burn their full length no more than 25% of the time" based on a specified testing method. The purpose of this requirement is to reduce the likelihood of residential cigarette-caused fires.
(a) Testing and measuring the contents of tobacco products
Consumer tobacco products (cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, leaf tobacco, cigars, pipe tobacco, tobacco sticks, smokeless tobacco, kreteks, bidis and any kit involving tobacco 'sticks' or fine-cut tobacco and filter tubes) are subject to strict reporting requirements under the Tobacco Reporting Regulations and the Regulations Amending the Tobacco Reporting Regulations.
The Tobacco Reporting Regulations outline the methods for collecting information, sampling, the number of replicates, how to adjust for moisture and for determining pH levels. In all, manufacturers must report on 26 different constituents in whole tobacco. The official test method of each constituent for which manufacturers are required to report is listed in Schedule 1 of the Regulations.
The Regulations Amending the Tobacco Reporting Regulations set out testing requirements for the toxicity of cigarette emissions.
The Tobacco Reporting Regulations, under section 11, also require every manufacturer of a consumer tobacco product, including cigarette rolling papers, tubes and filters to report on the total quantity and cost of every ingredient (see Appendix 4-H for a copy of the reporting template).
In addition, the British Columbia Tobacco Testing and Disclosure Regulation requires that every manufacturer submit quarterly reports for 1998 - April 2001, then annually thereafter, to the Minister of Health, which identify and list, by brand, all ingredients and additives in every brand of cigarette or cigarette tobacco of the manufacturer that is sold, offered for sale, distributed, advertised or promoted in British Columbia.
(b) Testing and measuring the emissions of tobacco products
The Tobacco Reporting Regulations, section 14, requires that manufacturers of a subset of the market known as "designated" products (cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, leaf tobacco, tobacco sticks, and kreteks) report on the emissions from both mainstream and sidestream smoke. The Regulations dictate the contents of the reports and the sampling method, among other detailed requirements. The methods for data collection are further outlined under Schedules 2 and 3 of the Regulations. Schedule 2 describes forty-one toxic emissions from mainstream smoke to be measured and lists the official test method for each emission. Schedule 3 lists the official methods for the collection of toxic emissions from sidestream smoke.
The British Columbia Tobacco Testing and Disclosure Regulation requires manufacturers to test both mainstream and sidestream smoke. This smoke is tested for a number of smoke constituent chemicals and two physical characteristics (i.e., filter efficiency and pH). The number of smoke chemicals was reduced for the reporting years 2001 and beyond for all sidestream Intense Puff Regimes. The regulation requires annual tobacco smoke constituent reports for brands of cigarettes having 1.25% or more share of the domestic cigarettes sold in BC per annum for 2001 and beyond. These reports must be filed with the Minister of Health on or before April 30th of the following year for brands having 2% or more share of the BC domestic cigarette sales, and July 31st for brands having 1.25% or more of the BC cigarette market.
Canada's Tobacco Act under section 7(a)(i) and (ii) authorizes the government, through the establishment of regulations, to both prescribe the amount of substances contained in products and to prescribe substances that may not be added to tobacco products. No regulations to that effect have yet been adopted.
(c) Regulating the emissions of tobacco products
Canada does not regulate the emissions of tobacco products.
