Since Tuesday, each cigarette sold in Canada has come with an individual health warning that “cigarettes cause impotence” and cancer, and that there is “poison in every puff.”
The May labeling requirement, which aims to further restrict smoking, is a world first.
Canada’s then-addictions minister, Carolyn Bennett, had said the new warning labels would be “virtually unavoidable and, together with updated graphic images displayed on the package, will provide a real and startling reminder of the health consequences of smoking.”
According to the Canadian government, some young individuals, who are especially vulnerable to the risk of tobacco dependence, begin smoking after being handed a single cigarette rather than a pack branded with health warnings.
To raise awareness of the health risks linked with tobacco smoking, Canada became the first country to impose graphic warnings on packs of cigarettes in 2000, including horrific depictions of damaged hearts and lungs.
Over the last two decades, smoking has been declining.
However, according to government figures, cigarette smoking continues to kill 48,000 Canadians each year, and substance use accounts for about half of the country’s health-care spending.
Ottawa plans to reduce the number of smokers in the country to 5% of the population, or approximately 2 million people, by 2035, down from roughly 13% now.
