What Tobacco Advertising Is Still Allowed in Canada?

You will not see a tobacco billboard or a sponsored festival stage in Canada, but a few kinds of tobacco advertising are still lawful. The details are in Part IV of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act.

The general ban

Section 19 says no person shall promote a tobacco product or a tobacco product-related brand element, including by means of the packaging, except as the Act or regulations authorize. Promotion is defined broadly in s. 18 as any representation, by any means, likely to shape attitudes, beliefs or behaviours. Related rules add to it:

• False or misleading promotion about a product’s characteristics, health effects or hazards is prohibited (s. 20), as is promotion that could make a person believe a product is less harmful (s. 20.1).
• Testimonials and endorsements are prohibited (s. 21), including depicting a person, character or animal.
• Sponsorship: associating a brand element or manufacturer name with events, activities or sports and cultural facilities is prohibited (ss. 24 and 25).
• Sales promotions such as gifts, rebates and contests tied to a purchase, or giving products free, are prohibited for manufacturers and retailers (s. 29).
• Brand elements on other things are prohibited if the thing is associated with young persons, could appeal to them, or is tied to a way of life such as one that includes glamour (s. 27). Accessories bearing brand elements can be sold, subject to regulations (s. 26).

What is still allowed

Section 22(2) permits information or brand-preference advertising in two places: a publication addressed and sent to a named adult, and signs in places young persons are not permitted by law. The exception does not cover lifestyle advertising or advertising that could appeal to young persons (s. 22(3)). Retailers may post signs showing availability and price, and point-of-sale display is permitted, in each case subject to regulations (s. 30).

The second legislative review also notes that the Act does not prohibit manufacturer-to-retailer promotions that encourage reduced prices, and that publishing prohibited promotion on someone else’s behalf is banned, except for imported publications or retransmitted foreign broadcasts. The review lists the remaining forms, including intra-industry promotional activity, as areas that could be examined.

How the courts shaped it

Tobacco advertising law was written in courtrooms as much as in Parliament. The 1988 Tobacco Products Control Act allowed a ban on all tobacco advertising. In September 1995 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled 5-4 that the challenged advertising and promotion prohibitions went too far, partly because they covered purely informational advertising. It suggested narrower options such as banning lifestyle advertising or advertising aimed at young people. Parliament then passed the Tobacco Act, which received Royal Assent on 25 April 1997.

Manufacturers challenged the new law. On 28 June 2007 the Supreme Court found that the challenged Tobacco Act provisions infringed freedom of expression but were reasonable limits justified under s. 1 of the Charter, and restored the trial judgment. The timeline is in our litigation guide.

Enforcement and online activity

Health Canada’s online inspections check manufacturers’ and retailers’ websites and social media accounts, and its inspectors attend festivals and events to verify that tobacco or vaping advertising and sponsor-related promotion is not happening. Complaints from the public can trigger inspections. Vaping promotion has its own rules, including the federal prohibition on indicating flavours such as confectionery, dessert, cannabis, soft drink and energy drink; see vaping laws in Canada.

Related rules

Promotion also happens on the pack. Packaging is covered by plain packaging and flavour rules by menthol and flavoured tobacco bans. The full list is on the tobacco regulation hub. We did not find an official Canadian study measuring the effect of advertising restrictions on youth uptake, so this page does not make that claim.