Quebec's Tobacco Act: The case for a reasonable, factual approach

MONTREAL, Aug. 31, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Imperial Tobacco Canada, the country's largest legal tobacco company, presented today arguments and recommendations to support effective, reasonable regulation aimed at meaningfully improving public health before the parliamentary commission on Bill 44, which is intended to bolster controls on tobacco use in Quebec.

"Imperial Tobacco Canada recognizes the health risks associated with smoking, and that is why we support responsible, fact-based regulation, especially when it comes to protecting young people," said Eric Gagnon, Head of External and Corporate Affairs, Imperial Tobacco Canada. "We encourage lawmakers not to yield to the temptation of implementing regulations based on emotions, as is the case with some of the proposed measures in Bill 44, but to advocate in favour of a fact-based approach instead."

As part of the public consultations on Bill 44, An Act to Bolster Tobacco Control, Imperial Tobacco Canada presented the following recommendations earlier today:

• To help prevent smoking among youth, we suggest that the government emphasize prevention and education efforts with young people and their peers.
• To help prevent smoking among youth, the government should include a ban on providing or offering tobacco products to minors.
• Bill 44 should ban candy-flavoured tobacco products, but it should exclude traditional flavours in cigarettes, such as menthol, which are consumed primarily by adults over age 30.
• While we support the ban on selling e-cigarettes to those under the age of 18, we encourage the government not to subject e-cigarettes to the Tobacco Act but to define a specific regulatory framework that will allow for fact-based communication with consumers and make these products available in the various distribution networks where smokers usually purchase cigarettes.
• The Quebec government should include strong measures to tackle and curtail the illegal production and smuggling of tobacco products in the province once and for all.

"Rather than considering extreme regulatory measures that could prove counter-productive, the government should evaluate the real efficacy of the measures it adopts to reach its objectives." concluded Mr. Gagnon. 

SOURCE Imperial Tobacco Canada

Image with caption: "Eric Gagnon, head of external and corporate affairs for Imperial Tobacco Canada, arrives at the National Assembly of Quebec, as part of the special consultations and public hearings on Bill 44, an act to bolster tobacco control. (CNW Group/Imperial Tobacco Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150831_C8413_PHOTO_EN_487558.jpg

Lauriane Ayivi, Torchia Communications, 514-288-8290 ext. 233 (office), 514-567-1892 (cell), [email protected]