London, Ont. health official: New warnings on cigarettes will help prevent youth smoking

Beginning Tuesday, new Health Canada regulations come into effect that require labels on each individual cigarette warning smokers of the risks.

London-Middlesex health officials say the new incoming warning labels on individual cigarettes will help deter youth smoking.

Beginning Tuesday, new Health Canada regulations come into effect that require labels on each individual cigarette warning smokers of the risks.

Linda Stobo, the manager of the substance use program with the Middlesex-London Health Unit, says she believes the new warnings will help prevent young Canadians from picking up the harmful habit.

“This will help ensure that those young people, who may not see a pack ’cause they are relying on a friend to get a cigarette, they will actually see the health warning,” said Stobo.

The wording on each cigarette, written in English and French, will feature warnings of the harms they can cause, such as heart disease and leukemia.

Stobo says the warnings on each cigarette “enable a conversation to take place” about the harms of smoking.

“It enables them to pause and think about if this is something they really want to light up,” added Stobo.

The new regulations were first announced in May by then-health minister Jean-Yves Duclos. He said tobacco use continues to be one of Canada’s most significant health problems. He added it is the country’s leading preventable cause of disease and premature death.