The Canada Government has taken an important step to prevent smoking in the country.
The Canada Government yesterday made it mandatory to carry a health warning on every cigarette pack to prevent smoking in the country.
This new initiative will be formally implemented from August 1. After which warnings like ‘poison in every puff’, ‘tobacco smoke harms children’, and ‘cigarettes cause cancer’ will be gradually introduced on top of every cigarette.
In this regard, Canadian Minister Caroline Bennett said that tobacco use is still the cause of death of 48,000 Canadian citizens annually.
Caroline Bennett believes this bold move will make health warning messages virtually inevitable. That along with the updated graphic images displayed on the packaging will act as a reminder of the serious health consequences of smoking.
The Canadian government has taken this decision in view of the fact that young people, who are particularly prone to smoking, often start smoking by buying single cigarettes instead of packs.
Canada began placing graphic images on cigarette packets with health warning messages in 2000. It includes vivid images of the human heart and lungs affected by smoking as a means of raising awareness about the dangers of tobacco use to human health.
Since then, there has been a marked decline in smoking prevalence in Canada over the past two decades.
But now this new initiative taken by Canada aims to reduce the number of smokers in the country to 5 percent of the country’s population by 2035, which will be equal to about 2 million people. The current smoking rate in the country is around 13%.
In addition, one of the goals of enforcing stricter regulations and creating awareness about the health risks of smoking is to reduce the financial burden on the country’s healthcare system.
Canada has become the first country in the world to announce a health warning on every cigarette, although the UK has considered a similar move.
