TORONTO, May 1, 2024
/CNW/ - In March 2024, the Chief
Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) for Ontario released an extensive report focused
on substance use and its detrimental effects. The report presents a
strong strategic plan aimed at addressing tobacco and vape use and
its repercussions. The Alliance for a Tobacco Free Ontario (ATFO)
which includes the Canadian Cancer Society, Heart & Stroke, the
Canadian Lung Association, the Ontario Medical Association, the
Ontario Public Health Association, the Ontario Tobacco Research
Unit, and the Lung Health Foundation strongly supports the report
and its recommendations, particularly its holistic strategy for
tackling not only tobacco and vaping use, but also other new
nicotine products, essential for protecting Ontarians.
ATFO applauds the Government of Ontario's recent leadership in addressing the
youth vaping crisis by implementing a vape tax and encourages the
ongoing prioritization of such upstream and effective measures.
Accordingly, we urge Ontario to
take a closer examination of the CMOH report and adopt its
recommendations for the Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy. A
comprehensive approach and a strategic road map such as the one
outlined in the CMOH report is fundamental to reducing tobacco and
vape use among individuals and youth in Ontario.
This approach should include adopting the following measures as
recommended in the CMOH report:
- Raising the minimum legal age for purchasing both tobacco and
vaping products to 21 years old;
- Increasing the provincial sales tax on tobacco products and
incrementally raising the tax annually to keep up with
inflation;
- Maintaining the provincial sales tax on vaping and increasing
it annually to keep pace with inflation;
- Restricting the online and social media advertising of tobacco
and vaping products, the type of branding and design for
e-cigarettes, as well as banning online sales;
- Capping the number of tobacco and e-cigarette stores in a
municipality/region, and prohibit new stores from being located
within 200 metres of a school or an existing store;
- Prohibiting manufacturers from giving promotional incentives to
retailers (e.g. discounts, sales volume bonuses);
- Imposing a retailer licensing fee for retailers or tobacco and
vaping products;
- Banning disposable vaping products; and
- Adopting regulatory framework to include new non-tobacco
nicotine products such as nicotine pouches and ensure these
products are not sold to youth and non-smokers.
As the report outlines, the serious harms associated with
smoking tobacco were identified almost 60 years ago. Since then,
Ontario has introduced a range of
initiatives, such as the Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy. As a result,
between 1999 and 2020, the province saw a significant and steady
decline in the number of people who smoke tobacco, and in smoking
rates across all age groups. However, despite progress,
Ontario has fallen behind other
provinces in its use of taxation policy to reduce smoking. It also
falls short of covering the health care and other costs associated
with tobacco use. In order to cover these costs, ATFO encourages
the government of Ontario to adopt
a tobacco cost recovery fee. Each year, the government spends
approximately $44M to fund the Smoke
Free Ontario strategy, with prevention, cessation, compliance and
enforcement programs, a cost that is ultimately borne by the
taxpayer. A cost recovery fee on tobacco companies will hold Big
Tobacco accountable for the ongoing harm inflicted on society,
reposition the cost to industry while removing the current burden
from the government and taxpayers. A cost recovery fee could
generate at least $44 million per
year at a time when public finances are under pressure.
While we are pleased with the recent vape tax, we hope that
measures as suggested by Ontario's
top doctor in his 2024 report, as well as ATFO's recommendations
are given due consideration. We look forward to working with the
Ministries of Finance and Health to continue to work towards
Canada's goal of reducing tobacco
use to less than 5% of the population by 2035.
SOURCE Alliance for a Tobacco Free Ontario