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 Act. Canada’s tobacco industry and its front groups and allies also took advantage of WNTD to make their positions heard. The following pages outline who they are, what they’re saying and what they’ve said in the past, and show how their messages are designed to distort the facts and confuse and dissuade Canadians on the value of plain and standardized tobacco packaging.
