Question Period Note: SMOKING AND TOBACCO USE IN CANADA

• Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in this country, killing approximately 48,000 Canadians each year. The Government has an ambitious target to reduce tobacco use to less than 5% by 2035.

KEY MESSAGES
• Our Government is committed to helping Canadians quit using tobacco and to protecting the health of young people and non-smokers.
• Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in this country. Through Canada’s Tobacco Strategy, we are working to drive down tobacco use in Canada to less than 5% by 2035.
• We put in place regulations to standardize the appearance of tobacco packages to reduce the appeal of these products. Health Canada is updating the health-related labelling requirements to reflect the latest scientific evidence and to help ensure that these labels remain noticeable and impactful.
• We will continue to strengthen regulations to prevent youth and non-smokers from becoming addicted to nicotine and to provide Canadians with health information on tobacco use.
IF PRESSED ON HELP FOR SMOKERS…
• We urge Canadians who smoke to consider quitting smoking. We know that when you give up cigarettes, your body starts to renew itself as early as the first day of quitting, reducing your chance of developing heart disease, cancer, breathing problems, and infections.
• Quitting smoking can be difficult, but it is possible. The Government of Canada has many resources to help Canadians quit and reduce the harms of smoking.
• We urge Canadians to contact the pan-Canadian toll-free quitline where trained specialists can help them develop a quit smoking plan, answer questions, and provide referrals to programs and services in their community where available.

Tobacco use in Canada

Data released on September 8th 2021, from the 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), show the largest annual smoking decline in the survey’s history, decreasing from 4.7M to 4.2M Canadians 12 years of age and older. Decades of tobacco control have seen positive impacts, resulting in a national average rate of 13% (4.2M) down from 15% (4.7M) in 2019. Daily smoking also declined to 9% (2.9M) from 10% (3.2M) in 2019. A reliable estimate on daily smoking for youth aged 15-19 cannot be determined for 2020. Daily smoking for youth aged 12-17 is less than 1% (10,300).

While the recent declines are positive, millions of Canadians are still smoking, reminding us that, despite decades of effort to deter smoking, tobacco use remains a significant public health problem in Canada. Tobacco use is still the leading cause of premature death in Canada, killing half of all Canadians who smoke daily for a long time. Furthermore, prevalence rates for on-reserve First Nations and Inuit are higher than that of other Canadians.

In July 2020, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction released an update of its report entitled “Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms 2015 – 2017”. The report identifies the enormous burden tobacco use places on all Canadians. The report found that in 2017 the total cost of tobacco use to society was approximately $12.3 billion or $336 for every Canadian. Tobacco use was identified as the deadliest and most costly substance by far accounting for 47% of all attributable health care costs from substance use and approximately 48,000 premature deaths in 2017 (over 128 deaths per day or 17% of all deaths).

Canada’s Tobacco Strategy

Canada’s Tobacco Strategy represents the Government of Canada’s plan to address tobacco use. It is led by Health Canada, in partnership with the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canada Revenue Agency, Indigenous Services Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Public Safety Canada, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Tobacco Cost Recovery/Levy

In their 2021 platform, the Liberal Party of Canada proposed a Tobacco Manufacturers’ recovery fee requiring tobacco manufacturers to pay for the cost of federal public health investments in tobacco control. Health Canada is working closely with other Government of Canada partners to examine options and determine next steps.

Both the Conservative Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party made similar commitments in their election platforms.

KEY FACTS
• Approximately 4.2 million Canadians smoke cigarettes – about 13% of the population over the age of 15.

• Canada’s Tobacco Strategy is a comprehensive and integrated approach to increase cessation rates and protect youth and non-smokers from nicotine addiction, supported by a $330M investment over five years, starting in May 2018.