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