HALIFAX – The prevalence of flavoured tobacco in Nova Scotia may soon go up in smoke as a movement to ban sales of the product in the province grows.
The packages of cigarettes, cigarillos and chew tobacco boast fruity flavours, like mocha and strawberry, and may look like gum or candy.
But the Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society and Smoke Free Nova Scotia say the products entice young people to smoke.
No one under the age of 19 years old is allowed to buy tobacco in Nova Scotia but the organizations want the province to take a more active role in preventing youth from potentially getting their hands on the products.
“A decade ago, this was very much a non-issue but over the last 10 to 12 years, this industry has really, really boomed,” said Kelly Cull, manager of government and partner relations for the Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society.
The Canadian Cancer Society wants Nova Scotia to follow in the footsteps of Alberta, which recently passed a bill banning all sales of flavoured tobacco. Ontario just introduced legislation on the same issue.
Proponents of a ban say the flavours could be a gateway for youth to try other tobacco products.
“I’m sure if parents see some of the packaging, because it’s very cleverly done, they may not think it was in fact a flavoured tobacco product,” said Krista McMullin, president of Smoke Free Nova Scotia.
“The tobacco products are very, very clever because they know how they can still market this now legally to youth. We need to take a tough stand on that.”
Smoke Free Nova Scotia and the Canadian Cancer Society want the province to add the issue to its agenda.
“We know the minister has been talking about e-cigarettes. We would like to see the government addressing these issues as well as flavoured tobacco. Ultimately that would be a ban on all flavoured tobacco products, including menthol, in the province of Nova Scotia,” Cull said.
Health Minister Leo Glavine tells Global News that the issue is concerning and that it is on his radar.
“It is smoking. It is nicotine. There is an addiction that does take place,” Glavine said.
The minister said details are still being ironed out but he plans to introduce legislation on a ban during the spring session.
“We will be giving the full consideration to a complete ban but any way that we can keep our youth away from smoking flavoured cigarettes, we will certainly move in that direction,” he said.
There are also hopes that a ban in Nova Scotia could have other Atlantic provinces following suit.
“We’re really looking forward to Nova Scotia stepping out and being a leader in this area,” Cull said.
The Youth Smoking Survey released by the Propel Centre at the University of Waterloo shows 49 per cent of high school students in Nova Scotia who smoked tobacco in the last 30 days, smoked flavoured tobacco. The report states the national average is 52 per cent.
Smoking prevalence in the province is actually on the decline: about 29 per cent of residents smoked in 1999, that number fell to about 18% in 2011.
A report released by the Nova Scotia government states 1,700 Nova Scotians die every year from diseases related to tobacco use.
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