Canada - federal government introduces legislation to ban flavored tobacco products..

For example Prime Time Little Cigars.
May 26, 2009 - The federal government plans to introduce legislation Tuesday, 5/26 that, if passed, would make good on a campaign promise to ban flavoured tobacco products that are considered appealing to children.

The bill, "An Act to Amend the Tobacco Act," also is expected to mandate that mini-cigars, called cigarillos, must be sold in packages of at least 20, and that all tobacco advertising and promotion in print and electronic media that may be viewed and read by young people is prohibited.

More details will be revealed when the bill is introduced in the House of Commons by Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, but according to the Conservative party platform that was released during the fall 2008 election, the proposed measures will "help to prevent the exploitation of children by the tobacco industry."

The most recent statistics from the Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, indicate that among youth aged 15 to 19, 33 per cent reported trying a cigarillo and 10 per cent said they had smoked one in the previous month.

Groups including Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and the Canadian Medical Association have been pushing the federal government for new laws that would crack down on the sale and marketing of cigarillos. They argue the products, with flavours such as strawberry, vanilla, pina colada, chocolate mint, grape and cherry, are clearly aimed at youth and are appealing because they come in a variety of flavours, are affordable, and are sold in brightly-coloured packages that can look like markers, lip gloss, and music players. The groups also say the cigarillos, when sold individually or in small "kiddie packs," have no health warnings on them.

It is not yet known what flavours the government is aiming to ban but setting a minimum package size for cigarillos is aimed at ending the current practice of selling them individually. A single cigarillo can be purchased for less than $2 but a package of 20 will make the products more expensive and therefore less appealing to youth, according to Health Canada.

Reference: Feds set to outlaw tobacco flavours, 'kiddie packs' by Meagan Fitzpatrick, Canwest News Service, 5/25/2009.

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