Feds move forward with menthol cigarette ban

A pack of menthol cigarettes is shown in this undated file photo.

Take your last deep breath of cool, smoky air: in an effort to curb youth smoking, the Canadian government is moving forward with a plan to ban menthol cigarettes.

“By moving forward on this proposed ban on menthol, alongside the existing flavours ban for tobacco products, we are taking another important step in the fight against youth smoking,” health minister Jane Philpott said in a prepared statement.

The ban would also extend to menthol-flavoured cigars and blunt wraps.

The move follows the federal Conservatives banning most flavoured tobacco products in 2009.

In May 2015, Nova Scotia became the first jurisdiction in the world to prohibit the sale of menthol-flavoured tobacco products. Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island soon followed suit by passing similar legislation, with the last of these prohibitions coming into effect in May 2017. The European Union, Ethiopia, Turkey and Moldova have also all tabled similar anti-menthol bills.

Because of their smooth minty flavour, the government believes that menthol cigarettes promote youth experimentation and subsequent tobacco addiction. According to Health Canada, six per cent of Canadian students, grade 6 to 12, reported using tobacco in the past 30 days. Almost half of them smoked menthols.

“Every year, tens of thousands of Canadians die from preventable diseases that can be directly linked to smoking,” Philpott added. “Research shows that the best way to prevent these deaths is to stop people from smoking in the first place, especially when they’re young.”

In April, Health Canada launched a 30-day consultation on the proposed amendment to the Tobacco Act. A 75-day public consultation period will now last until Jan. 18, 2017, in which Canadians can provide comments on the menthol-ban proposal.

Despite declining smoker numbers and years of efforts to reduce tobacco use, more than 5 million Canadians are still lighting up. According to Health Canada, tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of illness and premature death in Canada, claiming some 37,000 lives per year. The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse estimates that more than $4 billion a year is spent on direct health care costs relating to tobacco use.

With files from the Canadian Press