Smoking in Canada
In Canada, smoking is allowed and tobacco products are regulated. Under these regulations, cigarettes can be sold, purchased online, used, and bought from vending machines. The importation of cigarettes for trade is permitted with a trade license. Health warnings are required on cigarette packaging, the minimum legal age for sales is 18 years, and there are legal restrictions on smoking in public places. Cigarettes are subject to an excise tax value of 54.47% and a total taxation rate of 63.34%. Available data show that smoking remains a significant public health issue in Canada. In 2024, there were approximately 3.5 million current smokers aged 15 years and older. This shows that the adult current smoking prevalence was 10.6% in 2024, with 13.1% among males and 8.1% among females. In comparison, this prevalence was 11.4% in 2022. For reference, the number of daily smokers was approximately 3.5 million in 2017 which shows that the adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence was 11.6%, with 19.1% among males and 13.4% among females. In 2021, smoking led to 34,171 deaths in Canada, including 20,700 deaths among males and 13,471 among females. This indicates that smoking accounted for 11% of all deaths in 2021 in the country, including 12.8% of male deaths and 9.04% of female deaths.
Read articles from Canada
February 08, 2024 by cbc.ca
B.C. restricts youth's access to nicotine pouch products
The B.C. government announced a provincial sales restriction for buccal nicotine pouch products, including those under the brand Zonnic. The new rules require these products to be kept behind pharmacy counters, in an effort to limit youth access. Purchasers will now have to consult with a pharmacist in order to buy these products. The provincial government hopes that these measures will help reduce the number of young people using such products.
January 16, 2024 by canberratimes.com.au
Vape inaction 'not an option' despite huge GP need
Packed GP waiting rooms might need to find space for hundreds of thousands more patients each year under an analysis of new vape rules. But as the number of e-cigarette users hits 1.3 million, one state minister says stemming the tide of an emerging health crisis is essential. Under a national crackdown introduced in January, access to e-cigarettes for therapeutic purposes requires a prescription from a medical or nurse practitioner.
December 01, 2023 by cbc.ca
'We were duped': Health minister vows to close 'loophole' on flavoured nicotine pouches
Canada's health minister says he'll act quickly to shut down a "loophole" after Health Canada approved the sale of flavoured nicotine pouches with no restrictions on how the product is advertised or sold. "There are very serious questions about what the tobacco industry is doing here and what their intention is. And it would seem that their intention is to addict new young people to nicotine, which is disgusting," Health Minister Mark Holland said Tuesday in response to questions from CBC News. "We want to shut down this loophole."
November 17, 2023 by regulatorwatch.com
Pushing Limit | Canadian Economist Troubled by Vape Taxes & Flavour Bans
With the province of Quebec now wholly joined with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and the Northwest Territories in banning or restricting flavours in nicotine vaping products, hundreds of thousands of Canadians now have little or no access to a vital tool for tobacco harm reduction. Joining us today to discuss these troubling developments is Ian Irvine, professor of economics at the Department of Economics at Concordia University in Montreal. Is Canada now hostile territory for nicotine vapers? Find Out!
November 15, 2023 by globalnews.ca
What are nicotine pouches? Why health experts are sounding the alarm in Canada
The introduction of nicotine pouches to the Canadian market has raised concerns among health experts, who are urging prompt regulation due to the legal availability of these products to children. On Tuesday, a group of Canadian health organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society, urged the federal government to restrict the availability of nicotine pouches, saying the product contains “a highly addictive drug.”
November 14, 2023 by thestar.com
Ontarians deserve a voice in deciding the future of the tobacco industry
Within the next few months, Premier Doug Ford will likely be asked to make a decision that will affect the health of Ontarians for decades. Canada’s largest tobacco companies are expected to offer the province a greater share of their future sales revenues to settle the province’s long-standing lawsuit against them. A thumbs up to this deal by Ford would keep these deadly products on the market indefinitely and position them favourably as tobacco manufacturers continue marketing their newer nicotine products that are addicting youth at an alarming rate across Canada.
November 02, 2023 by regulatorwatch.com
Flavour Ban Fever | Canadian Provinces Threaten Health Gains | RegWatch
According to a growing body of research on the impact of flavour bans, sales of combustible cigarettes are likely to grow while safer nicotine vaping products crater. Most alarmingly, where sales of flavoured nicotine products are restricted, teens tend to turn to smoking—destroying the very reason for implementing flavour bans in the first place. Joining today to discuss Canada’s flavour ban fever is Dr. Michael Pesko, the J. Rhoads Foster Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the University of Missouri.
October 19, 2023 by radio-canada.ca
The U.K. and New Zealand want to ban the next generation from smoking at any age. Should Canada follow?
Officials elsewhere want to create the first 'smoke-free generation' As some countries move toward banning the next generation from smoking, experts here say Canada should weigh whether a similar ban could work to stop youth from picking up the habit. [...] Experts who study teen smoking and vaping habits say although these smoking bans don't necessarily target vaping, a public discussion about a generational smoking ban and what that could look like in Canada is warranted. There are lots of contextual factors that come to play that we really need to consider when we are thinking about implementing something like this in Canada, said Laura Struik, [...]
October 17, 2023 by financialpost.com
Opinion: Improve public health by swapping Big Tobacco for Big Vape
Canadian smokers have been staring at warning labels on their cigarette packs for more than half a century. And while these labels have metastasized in size and grotesqueness over the years, millions of smokers still haven’t kicked the habit. Now Health Canada thinks one more warning will finally do the trick. Starting next year, printed slogans such as “Poison in every puff” will be required on each and every cigarette. Canada is the first country to make such a move. Carolyn Bennett, federal minister for mental health and addictions when the new policy was announced, called it a “bold step.” Such confidence seems misplaced.
October 13, 2023 by tobaccoreporter.com
Health Canada Licenses Nicotine Pouch
Health Canada has granted Nicoventures Trading permission to sell Zonnic, a nicotine pouch that can help adult smokers quit smoking by delivering nicotine to the body. The product will be distributed in Canada exclusively by BAT subsidiary Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITCAN). “This is a first for Canada. No other nicotine pouch has received Health Canada’s authorization. Zonnic will give smokers a new option to help them quit smoking,” said ITCAN President and CEO Frank Silva, President in a statement. “We all agree, smoking is the cause of serious diseases, and we are committed to reducing the health impact of our business. [...]