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Packaging & Warnings

In places where most or all traditional forms of advertising have been prohibited, including Canada, the tobacco package has become the last bastion of tobacco promotion. Three decades ago, tobacco companies foresaw the day when advertising would be banned and the pack alone would have to “convey the total product message” (British American Tobacco, 1979). Canada has been a world leader in requiring tobacco companies to provide—on the package itself—critical information about the health consequences of tobacco use. Research shows that large graphic health warnings on packs are an effective vehicle in communicating health risk information and in detracting from the industry’s use of design features—colours, graphics, logos, embossing, fonts—to communicate positive brand images. As of 19 June 2012, all packages of cigarettes and little cigars sold at retail in Canada must display one of the 16 new warnings that occupy 75% of the front and back faces.  

Red Letter Day for Health of Canadians as Government Mandates Drab Brown Tobacco Packaging

The Board, staff, and members of the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association (NSRA) reacted with jubilation to the announcement today by Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor that the government has published draft regulations requiring plain and standardized packaging for all tobacco products. Download the Document

Plain and Standardized Tobacco Packaging: One Package Format—Slide-and-Shell—One Package Size

The federal government has committed to implementing plain and standardized tobacco packaging (PSP) before the end of its mandate (October 2020). Bill S-5, which would give the government legal authority to enact PSP, is winding its way through Parliament. Once the Bill has been passed, draft regulations will be published in the Canada Gazette,...

“Spookily the Same:” The Tobacco Industry is Recycling Australian Arguments in Canada Against Plain and Standardized Packaging

Even before Health Canada’s initial consultation on tobacco plain and standardized packaging (PSP) ended 31st August 2016, Big Tobacco and its allies had launched a counteroffensive. Former Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon was in Canada in September to set the record straight on Australia’s success, and commented that the industry’s arguments against PSP are...

Shows How The Canadian Convenience Stores Association And Its Affiliate Were Used As Front Groups To Block Health Regulations And Tobacco Taxes

Ottawa & Montreal, October 18, 2016 — A confidential presentation by Imperial Tobacco Canada to its multinational parent company, British American Tobacco, reveals both the objectives and tactics behind the company’s decade-long campaign to “keep the contraband issue alive”, despite the fact that contraband decreased substantially in the country during this period. The document, provided by an...

Eye on the Industry: June 2016 (Plain and Standardized Packaging)

On this year’s World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), May 31st, the World Health Organization urged governments to get ready for plain packaging. Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott took advantage of the opportunity to announce the commencement of a 3 month consultation period on potential measures for standardizing tobacco packages and cigarettes under the Tobacco...