Province must curb thriving illegal tobacco trade if any progress is to be made on tobacco priorities
MONTREAL, July 15, 2024 /CNW/ - While well-intentioned, the tobacco priorities in PEI's recently published Live Well Action Plan are not focused on the real tobacco issues in the province, namely the illegal sale of nicotine products.
"There are some positive elements in the Live Well Action Plan, however, the province had the opportunity to make a step-change in decreasing illegal tobacco sales and failed to take it. In fact, the two first tobacco-related priorities will increase illegal sales," said Eric Gagnon, Vice President, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITCAN). "The proposed generational ban and the proposal to restrict sales of tobacco products to tobacconist shops will only drive sales to the black market."
ITCAN shares the government's goal of reducing the smoking rate and supports two of the four tobacco priorities: community-based messaging to prevent underaged youth initiation and the expansion of the PEI cessation program.
"We have seen time and time again that prohibition does not work. The criminals who already sell tobacco products to minors will not start asking for ID, retailers will face enforcement challenges, and it will create sanctioned age-discrimination by creating a class of 'under-age adults'," said Mr. Gagnon.
In addition, the proposal to restrict tobacco sales to tobacconist shops ignores the evidence that existing retailers, and convenience stores, do an excellent job of ensuring that youth cannot buy tobacco products. It would be economically destructive for these small businesses, for which tobacco often represents 50 percent of revenue. Furthermore, PEI's existing law restricting vaping product sales to tobacconist shops (which has not been adopted anywhere else in Canada) can be shown to have not worked to control youth vaping. The province's youth vaping rate is higher than the national average.
"Let's focus on the real problems in tobacco control with actions that we know will work," said Mr. Gagnon. "Smoking is at an all-time low in PEI and Canada. To make a real difference, governments need to look at progressive solutions like enforcing existing laws, educating on relative risks of nicotine products and acceptance of harm reduction as a tool for reducing smoking rates."
ITCAN recommends adding three additional measures: strengthen youth access prevention measures, encouraging reduced risk non-combustible products as a harm reduction alternative for adult smokers, and cracking down on illegal tobacco activity. These meaningful measures are much more like to deliver positive results on reducing smoking than retail restrictions or phased-in prohibition.
About Imperial Tobacco Canada
Imperial Tobacco Canada is Canada's leading tobacco and nicotine products company and is part of the world's most international tobacco group: BAT. BAT is a global multi-category consumer goods business, operating in over 180 markets. At BAT, our purpose is to create A Better Tomorrow™ by Building a Smokeless World.
Our vision is for A Smokeless World built on smokeless products where, ultimately, cigarettes have become a thing of the past. A world where smokers have migrated from cigarettes to smokeless alternatives. A world where smokers make a Switch to Better.
SOURCE Imperial Tobacco Canada
For more information or interview requests, please contact: Mary Moniz, Torchia Communications, 647-278-0152, [email protected]; Dalia Esposito, Torchia Communications, 514-654-2635, [email protected]
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