Statement made on 16 September 2009 by Senator Jane Cordy
Hon. Jane Cordy:
Honourable senators, I am pleased to speak today to Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act.
I will start by saying that I support this bill and what it hopes to achieve. It is a step in the right direction that will hopefully stop the misleading marketing of tobacco products. The marketing of tobacco products to Canada's youth has been and continues to be of particular concern.
We know that tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death. Tobacco does a great deal of harm and it is responsible for the deaths of about 37,000 Canadians every year. These are deaths that could be prevented. More than five million people die from the effects of tobacco every year worldwide. It is the only legal consumer product that kills when it is used exactly as intended. Up to one half of all smokers will die from some tobacco related disease. We also have evidence that second hand smoke can harm those who are exposed to it.
Tobacco companies spend tens of millions of dollars every year recruiting new users and keeping current users from quitting. Through advertising and promotional campaigns — including the use of carefully designed packages — the tobacco industry continues to divert attention from the deadly effects of its products. Effective health warnings on tobacco product packaging, especially those that include pictures, have been proven to be one of the factors to motivate users to quit and to reduce the appeal of tobacco for those who are not yet addicted.
Warning people about the true risks of nicotine can go a long way toward reducing tobacco addiction. Requiring warnings on tobacco packages is a simple, cheap and effective strategy that has vastly reduced tobacco use and saved lives. Fortunately, Canada is one of the countries requiring warnings on tobacco packages.
Bill C-32 repeals the exemption that permits tobacco advertising and publications with an adult readership of not less than 85 per cent. It prohibits the packaging, the importation for sale, the distribution and the sale of little cigars and blunt wraps unless they are in a package that contains at least 20 units. We know the price point for tobacco is very important to children. The sale of kiddie packs of cigarettes has been banned in Canada. Now it is important that this also applies to cigars and blunt wraps, which will be done under Bill C-32.
Bill C-32 will also prohibit the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, little cigars and blunt wraps that contain the additives set out in a new schedule to the act, as well as the packaging of those products in a manner that suggests they contain a prohibitive additive. It also prohibits the manufacture and sale of tobacco products unless all the required information about their composition is submitted to the minister.
Bill C-32 also strives to protect children and youth from tobacco industry marketing practices that encourage them to use tobacco products. These marketing practices include the use of flavourings and additives that would appeal to children and youth, and also the availability of little cigars and blunt wraps, sheets or tubes or tobacco in small quantities.
There have also been an increasing number of tobacco ads in daily newspapers and free entertainment weeklies. Little cigars, also known as cigarillos, and blunt wraps are marketed today with fruit flavours such as grape, cherry, peach, banana split and tropical punch. They have additives such as vitamins and sugar that taste like candy, making the taste more appealing to young people.
Research in both American sources and the tobacco industry's own internal documents released through court cases show that the addition of fruit and candy flavours to tobacco products make them more appealing to new users. The tobacco industry's internal documents show that flavours and additives increase the "try" factor; if you can get young people addicted to tobacco at a young age, they are more likely to continue smoking.
This is a growing problem and a growing concern. Wholesale sales of little cigars have increased from 53 million units in 2001 to 403 million units in 2007, making them the fastest growing tobacco product on the Canadian market.
Bill C-32 would amend the Tobacco Act by prohibiting the addition of fruit flavours and additives to little cigars, cigarettes and blunt wraps because of their appeal to children and youth. It would also prohibit the representation of those flavours and additives on the package, such as a picture or a graphic.
The amended Tobacco Act would also provide Health Canada with flexibility through Governor-in-Council authority to ban other appealing additives or include other product categories in the flavour ban at any time in the future if the evidence indicated that these were serving as inducements to youth. This positive step would ensure that the government could take action quickly.
Unlike cigarettes that must be sold in packages of 20, little cigars and blunt wraps are often sold individually and priced as little as $1. Bill C-32 would amend the Tobacco Act by extending the minimum quantity provisions.
The bill will require that little cigars and blunt wraps be packaged in quantities of at least 20 units. This change would end the industry practice of selling these products in single or small packs that are attractive to youth because of their cheaper price.
As I mentioned earlier, the price point for children in buying tobacco products is very important. This will raise the price, making them less affordable for young people.
Although there are currently restrictions on tobacco advertising in both print and electronic formats, the tobacco industry has been taking full advantage of an exemption allowing them to advertise in publications that have at least 85 per cent adult readership. A recent resurgence of tobacco advertising has increased exposure to youth audiences of tobacco sales ads.
Tobacco ads have been appearing in daily newspapers, magazines and free entertainment weekly papers. We know that the free entertainment papers are available to anyone by way of a curbside box. This makes it next to impossible to restrict access by children, and we certainly cannot determine if the readership is at least 85 per cent adult.
Between November 2007 and December 2008, tobacco companies spent about $4.47 million to place nationwide ads in print publications, a dramatic increase from the amount spent in the previous 14 months. Bill C-32 will repeal the exemption that allows tobacco ads to be placed in print publications with adult readerships of not less than 85 per cent.
Bill C-32 is a step in the right direction to protect Canadians, and young people in particular, from tobacco marketing. By prohibiting the sale of cigarettes, little cigars and blunt wraps that contain additives that have flavouring properties, and by prohibiting packaging that suggests that these products contain these additives, the bill aims to avoid misleading marketing of tobacco products. By prohibiting advertising in all types of magazines and newspapers regardless of their readership, the bill ensures that all Canadians, and young people in particular, will not be exposed to tobacco sales pitches aimed at recruiting new tobacco users.
We understand that no single piece of legislation will solve the problem of smoking among Canada's youth, but I believe that this bill takes an important step forward. As such, I am pleased to support this bill at second reading. I look forward to the opportunity to study the bill in greater detail in committee, where we will be able to engage stakeholders and hear testimony to help us assess and, if necessary, to improve the bill.