Should Canada ban smoking tobacco? Expert weighs in
CTV
As some countries around the world start implementing bans on, or gradually phasing out the use of tobacco, should Canada follow their lead?
As some countries around the world start implementing bans on, or phasing out the use of tobacco, should Canada—a world leader in promoting the dangers of smoking—follow their lead?
Michael Chaiton, senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and professor at the University of Toronto, told CTV’s Your Morning on Friday a smoke-free approach is feasible in Canada, with the right legislation.
“I think as the prevalence of smoking falls, it becomes incumbent upon us to change the way that we address the problem,” he said.
This year, Canada announced it will require health warnings be printed directly on individual cigarettes—becoming the first country in the world to take this approach. This is part of the government’s strategy to reduce the percentage of Canada's population that smokes tobacco to less than five per cent by 2035.
Meanwhile, other countries are taking stronger measures to eliminate smoking.
Both New Zealand and the U.K. started working on a generational smoking ban, which would prevent anyone born after Jan. 1, 2009 from buying cigarettes legally. This law would basically raise the legal smoking age by one year every year until it applies to the whole population.
New Zealand was the first country to pass this kind of ban last December, in addition to passing legislation that reduces the nicotine content in cigarettes and reduced the number of retailers who could sell the product by 90 per cent.
