Gélinas: Close loopholes in sale of flavoured tobacco

NDP health and long-term care critic France Gélinas is re-introducing a bill to ban the sale of all flavoured tobacco products including menthol.

Gélinas’ bill will close loopholes New Democrats identified years ago that the government has not yet addressed.

“In 2008, my Private Member’s Bill to prevent the sale of flavoured cigarillos passed, but tobacco companies worked overtime to find loopholes in the law,” said Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, in a news release. “The tobacco companies’ unwillingness to co-operate means that a wider ban is necessary in order to close all of the loopholes.”

It is widely recognized that the packaging, price, distribution and marketing of flavoured tobacco targets young people. Flavoured tobacco is often the first product they consume. Other products such as smokeless and imitation tobacco follow the same model. They’re all meant to seem harmless, but they encourage experimentation.

“The primary goal of this bill is to prevent the next generation from becoming smokers,” said Gélinas. “That is why so many young people are demanding their government ban flavoured tobacco. They have designed post-cards, petitions, organized youth days of actions against flavor tobacco and even brought their message to Queen’s Park.

“This government continues to say that reducing youth smoking rates is a priority, but has yet to protect our youth from flavoured tobacco. Other provinces are doing it, the time for action is now.”