The rigorous measure to which tobacco companies are required in Canada

Starting this Tuesday, tobacco companies in Canada are required to start individually labeling all of their cigarettes with notices warning about the health dangers of smoking.

Although health warnings on packages are common in most of the world, It is the first time that a country has taken the measure of forcing each cigarette to be labeled with a warning.

Messages such as “cigarettes damage your organs,” “cigarettes cause cancer,” or “cigarettes cause impotence” will appear in English and French, Canada’s two official languages, on the paper around the filter of each cigarette.

The regulation that came into force this Tuesday, and which was announced in June, states that manufacturers have until July 2024 to ensure that larger cigarettes are labeled with the warnings.

For smaller cigarettes, the period ends in August 2025.

(Keep reading: Cigarette: Only four countries meet WHO anti-smoking recommendations).

The individual labeling of cigarettes is added to the obligation that has already existed for two decades that packs include photos of diseases caused by tobacco.

The Ministry of Health considers that individual labeling allows warning messages to reach many teens who never see the packs because they often get the cigarettes one at a time.

According to data from the Canadian Heart & Stroke Society, each year smoking kills nearly 48,000 people in Canada.

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