New federal regulations come into effect next week in regards to tobacco products

As of November 9th, all tobacco brands will have to conform to a standard brown packaging.

Retailers will have 90 days to get rid of their current stock.

Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society says this is meant to make the product less attractive.

“Under plain packaging all the brand colours and logos and graphics will go away, it’ll be a standard brown for all brands. Now the health warnings will remain on the package but the package will be less appealing,” he says.

He says another important aspect of these new regulations is a ban on slim and super-slim cigarettes and packages.

“These are targeted at women, many girls will want to begin smoking to lose weight. This is very discouraging given the addictive, lethal nature of cigarettes. Having this fashionable, slim cigarettes is simply wrong,” says Cunningham.

Cunningham says additional measures will be put in place in the next two years including changes to the package format.

He says the more traditional ‘slide and shell’ packaging format will offer more surface area for health warnings.

Cunningham says 16 countries have now finalized plain packaging requirements, including Australia, France, New Zealand and Belguim.

He says the decision has been under consideration for 25 years in Canada but was delayed due to strong opposition from tobacco companies.

However, Cunningham says more can be done.

“For example, there should be a minimum age of 21 for both tobacco and e-cigarettes. This is something that 18 U.S. states have done. There also should be a smaller number of retail outlets. It shouldn’t be sold in convenience stores, we don’t sell cannabis in convenience stores,” Cunningham says.

Cunningham also says there should be an end to all tobacco advertising as well as action to tobacco taxes.

He says more changes are expected in the coming years, and hopes they’ll include e-cigarettes.