MONTREAL — A fresh set of Health Canada regulations that will require warning labels on individual cigarettes is set to come into effect Tuesday.
Once the regulations take effect, manufacturers have until the end of July 2024 to ensure the warnings are on all king-size cigarettes sold, followed by regular-size cigarettes and little cigars with tipping paper and tubes by the end of April 2025. Tobacco use continues to be one of Canada's most significant public health problems and remains the country's leading preventable cause of disease and premature death, then-health minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a May 31 statement announcing the new warning labels.
Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are banned in Canada, with warnings on cigarette packs dating back to 1972. The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco warned in June that cheaper, colourful black-market packs free of health warnings — federal rules ban packaging that includes brand colours or trademarks — attract young smokers and funnel more money to organized crime.