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
September 15, 2023 by 1828.org.uk
Canada’s individual cigarette warnings are ultimately smoke and mirrors
In the realm of legislative overreach, there are few things more emblematic than the Canadian government’s recent move to force tobacco companies to emblazon individual cigarettes with warning messages. While the intention to safeguard public health is admirable, this measure reeks of pointlessness and misdirection. In the grand scheme of tobacco control, this endeavour is akin to placing a band-aid on a leaking dam. More importantly, if this trend extends to Britain and impacts vapes, it risks undermining more effective deterrents while setting a dangerous precedent.
August 03, 2023 by ctvnews.ca
Quebec to ban flavoured vaping products on Oct. 31
Selling flavoured vaping products will be prohibited in Quebec starting Oct. 31. New regulations announced by the Health Ministry on Wednesday, will also limit the maximum nicotine concentration of vaping products and require certain information to be included on their labelling and packaging. The province will also control "certain characteristics" of vaping paraphernalia to make them "less attractive" to youth, according to a government press release.
July 14, 2023 by regulatorwatch.com
Greatest Threat | Orchestrated Campaign Tying Fentanyl to Nicotine Vapes | RegWatch
Over the past 18 months, a dangerous misinformation campaign has emerged, falsely linking nicotine vapes to fentanyl.
The media calls fentanyl-laced nicotine vapes an alarming trend that may be poisoning kids. A possibility that FDA Commissioner Robert Califf recently told Congress was likely only a matter of time.
July 13, 2023 by betakit
Ditch Labs secures $3.25 million to treat nicotine addiction with tech
Montréal-based healthtech startup Ditch Labs wants to help smokers wean themselves off nicotine with its dual hardware-software solution.
The early-stage startup has set its sights on a massive and increasing public health issue: nicotine addiction. A highly-addictive stimulant found in tobacco products, nicotine is why so many smokers find it tough to quit using cigarettes and vaporizers.
June 02, 2023 by bbc.com
Every Canadian cigarette will soon carry a health warning
Canada will soon print warning labels directly on cigarettes in a world-first, the country's health agency announced.
New packaging will feature a warning on each cigarette with phrases like: "Cigarettes cause cancer" and "Poison in every puff".
The regulation will come into effect on 1 August, Health Canada said.
It is part of an effort to reduce tobacco use in Canada to less than 5% by 2035.
In an announcement on Wednesday, Health Canada said the new regulations "will make it virtually impossible to avoid health warnings" on tobacco products.
May 19, 2023 by globalnews.ca
Vaping rates have fallen among Canadian youth — but that could be temporary
Vaping rates among young Canadians have fallen in recent years, but some experts expect those numbers to tick back up now that COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.
The numbers stem from Health Canada’s recent Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, released Tuesday, which surveyed 61,096 students in grades 7 to 12 between September 2021 and June 2022 across nine provinces.
Twenty-nine per cent of students reported ever using an e-cigarette in 2021-22, a decrease from 34 per cent in 2018-19.
May 09, 2023 by oyston.com
Smokers Helpine contradicts Health Canada
Smokers’ Helpline is a free, confidential service operated by the Canadian Cancer Society, offering support and information about quitting smoking, vaping and tobacco use. In over 20 years of operation, it has handled 400,000 calls, and 120,000 people have registered with the program. It is the main helpline for Canadians who smoke and operates in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan PEI and Yukon.
On its website, it says that it is ” evidence-based” and offers “personalized tools to help you quit successfully your way.”
May 08, 2023 by cbc.ca
Better enforcement needed to stop teens from vaping, says Sudbury, Ont. vape shop owner
The co-owner of a Sudbury, Ont. vape shop says better enforcement is needed to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of teens, as opposed to stricter laws.
"Our governments tend to regulate all of our products. Health Canada tries to push these agendas," said Robert Arsenault, co-owner of the eCloudz Specialty Vape Shop.
"Vaping is not for kids. But where's the enforcement?" In Ontario it's illegal for anyone under the age of 19 to purchase e-cigarettes.
And yet a recent study from researchers at Western University and Brescia University College found that 26 per cent of teens in Canada reported vaping at least once in the previous month.
May 01, 2023 by cbc.ca
Health Canada 'missing in action' on youth vaping crisis, experts say
Health Canada is "missing in action" on the regulation of e-cigarette flavours in Canada as youth vaping rates rise, health advocates say, and at a time when the vaping industry is expanding into highly addictive new devices that experts warn appeal directly to kids.
The federal government sounded the alarm in June 2021 over a "rapid increase in youth vaping in Canada" and proposed changes to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act to regulate the sale of "desirable flavours" helping drive the rising use among teens.
April 24, 2023 by regulatorwatch.com
Forbidden | Quebec Unleashes Black Market with Vape Flavour Ban | RegWatch
Quebec Minister of Health Christian Dubé announced a ban on flavours in nicotine vaping products which could go into effect in only 90 days.
Under the proposed regulation, all flavoured vapes, except for tobacco flavoured, will be forbidden in the province.
It’s devastating news for the 250,000 nicotine vapers who rely on various flavours to stay smoke-free. And for the hundreds of small business owners and the thousands of workers in Quebec’s vaping industry, the flavour ban amounts to a death sentence for their businesses.