Canada Might Print a Warning on Every Cigarette

POISON IN EVERY PUFF –

June 11, 2022 – While the exact messaging printed on cigarettes could change, Bennett said the current proposal is: “Poison in every puff.”

Bennett also revealed expanded warnings for cigarette packages that include a longer list of smoking’s health effects, including stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, and peripheral vascular disease.

Canada has required the photo warnings since the turn of the millennium, but the images haven’t been updated in a decade.

Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society, said he hopes the warnings printed directly on cigarettes become popular internationally, just like the package warnings did.

“This is going to set a world precedent,” Cunningham said, adding no other country has implemented such regulations. He’s hopeful that the warning will make a real difference.

“It’s a warning that you simply cannot ignore,” Cunningham said. “It’s going to reach every smoker, with every puff.”

The move also drew praise from Geoffrey Fong, a professor at the University of Waterloo and principal investigator with the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project.