Commercial tobacco policy pack: Local and provincial/territorial governments

June 12, 2019

Use this policy pack to gather evidence for policy interventions about the use of commercial tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)

Smoking is the most preventable cause of disease and premature death in Canada.

Reducing smoking prevalence is a key cancer prevention strategy. Although smoking rates in Canada have considerably reduced, nationally the rate is still high at 17.4%. Some experts suggest that reducing tobacco use in this generation of users and products will require something new, bold and fundamentally different from the “tried-and-true”.

Policy interventions

This policy pack summarizes the following evidence-informed policy interventions:

• Protect people from tobacco smoke
• Offer help to quit tobacco use
• Warn about the dangers of tobacco
• Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS)
• Raise taxes on tobacco

This pack also presents policy issues and accompanying actions, as well as economic evidence which supports commercial tobacco policy approaches.

Inside this commercial tobacco policy pack

• Background evidence:
  • Tobacco and cancer
  • ENDS and cancer
• Key statistics:
  • Historical trends in smoking prevalence and incidence of smoking-related cancers
  • Smoking status stratified by sub-populations
  • Smoking prevalence in Canada’s largest cities
  • Historical trends in cigarette smoking and electronic cigarette use in Canada
  • Historical trends in cigarette smoking and electronic cigarette use among students in Canada
• Evidence-informed policy actions to address commercial tobacco and ENDs use in Canada
• Public perceptions of the issue of tobacco and cancer
• Economic evidence to support commercial tobacco policy approaches

Downloadable content