FEATURES
The Tobacco Strategy aims to
reduce the smoking rate to
below five percent by 2035
By Gordon Stribling
This nation prides itself on its progressive approach
to public health. In June, we became the second
country in the world to legalize recreational
marijuana. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said:
“The current prohibition of marijuana has not
worked to protect our kids, to keep the money
out of the pockets of organized crime and that’s
why we’re bringing in a new legalized framework
around marijuana.”
The furore surrounding the announcement
overshadowed another progressive harm-reduction
initiative that has been welcomed by the country’s
growing vaping industry.
On World Tobacco Day on May 31, Health
Canada launched its Tobacco Strategy, pledging
to commit $330m over the next five years to help
Canadians quit smoking or ‘reduce the harms of
their addiction to nicotine.’ The strategy would also
seek to prevent young people and non-smokers
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from being exposed to tobacco.
The announcement followed the implementation
of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA)
that passed the week before. Health Canada has
now formally acknowledged that vaping products
are a less-harmful alternative to smoking.
Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said:
“Through this strategy and the new Tobacco and
Vaping Products Act, we can help people who
use tobacco to stop and we can discourage others
from starting. We are committed to the next phase
of our work, which aims to drive down tobacco
use by Canadians to less than five percent by
2035.”
It is an unfortunate reality that smoking
disproportionately impacts upon marginalized
groups such as the LGBTQ+ community and
indigenous peoples. The Tobacco Strategy will
focus on these groups as well as on young adults.