New regulations mean warnings like 'poison in every puff' will soon be on every cigarette

A fresh set of Health Canada regulations that will require warning labels on individual cigarettes is set to come into effect on Tuesday.

The move, announced earlier this year, makes Canada the first country in the world to take that step in the ongoing effort to help smokers kick the habit and deter potential puffers from picking it up.

The wording that will eventually be on every cigarette, written in English and French on the paper around the filter, ranges from warnings about harming children and damaging organs to causing impotence and leukemia. "Poison in every puff," cautions one.

The labels will dissuade teens leaning toward taking up the habit and push nicotine-dependent parents looking to fight it, predicted Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society.

Once the regulations take effect, manufacturers have until the end of July 2024 to ensure the warnings are on all king-size cigarettes sold, followed by regular-size cigarettes and little cigars with tipping paper and tubes by the end of April 2025.

"For youth who experiment by 'borrowing' a cigarette from a friend, it's going to mean they will see the cigarettes — even if they may not see the package — where the warnings appear," Cunningham said in a telephone interview. "It's going to prompt discussion, including by smokers during smoke breaks: 'What warning have you got today?'

"Often it's kids who are urging their parents to quit, and this provides new information and messaging," he said.

Dozens of studies in Canada and elsewhere show the effectiveness of printing warnings on each cigarette, Cunningham said.

Tobacco use continues to be one of Canada's most significant public health problems and remains the country's leading preventable cause of disease and premature death, then-health minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a May 31 statement announcing the new warning labels.

About 15 to 20 per cent of patients with cancer are smokers at the time of diagnosis, with a higher percentage for certain types, such as lung cancer and head and neck cancers, said Dr. Lawson Eng, a medical oncologist at Toronto's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and assistant professor in the University of Toronto's department of medicine.

He couldn't say "for sure" that the messaging will reduce rates, but he noted that past efforts have succeeded in tandem with other public health measures, such as including cessation strategies in cancer screening and care.

"I suspect it will likely continue to help with decreasing smoking prevalence and also help with encouraging people who are smoking to try to quit," Eng said.

Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are banned in Canada, with warnings on cigarette packs dating back to 1972.

In 2001, Canada became the first country to require tobacco companies to print pictorial warnings on the outside of cigarette packages and include inserts with health-promoting messages.