Tobacco control:
What’s the issue?
Tobacco continues to be the number one cause of preventable disease and death in Canada. An estimated 47,000 Canadians die each year as a result of smoking. Countless others live with chronic diseases. Despite public health education and prevention efforts, approximately 15 % of Canadians currently smoke. The federal government committed to reducing these smoking rates to “less than 5% by 2035”. However, if bold actions are not taken this goal will not be met.
What do we recommend?
- Introduce a tobacco cost recovery fee: hold the tobacco industry accountable through a ‘polluter pays’ model. A recovery fee would ask the tobacco industry for a minimum of $66 million annually to cover the costs of the tobacco control strategy.