‘Poison in every puff’: Canada becomes 1st country to have individual cigarette warnings

With the regulations now in effect, cigarette manufacturers now have a series of deadlines to meet to ensure the warning labels appear on individual tobacco products.

“Poison in every puff.”

Those words and others will eventually appear on every individual cigarette in Canada given that as of Tuesday, a new set of Health Canada regulations requiring warning labels on individual cigarettes comes into effect.

By doing so, Canada becomes the first country in the world with such a policy.

“A message that says ‘poison in every puff’ is something that is very effective,” said Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society.

“It’ll be there during every smoke break and it’ll be there when kids experiment with borrowing a cigarette from a friend. They may not see the package, but they’re going to see that warning on every cigarette – a warning on every cigarette can’t be missed.”

With the regulations now in 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.

The wording will be written in English and French on the paper around the filter. Blunt statements, including “Tobacco smoke harms children” and “Cigarettes cause cancer,” will be among the first six messages to appear.

A second set of six is expected to be printed on cigarettes in 2026. Organizations funded by tobacco companies have opposed the push toward stronger messaging, including the latest step.