Individual Stick Warnings Coming

Canada will soon require that health warnings be printed directly on individual cigarettes—becoming the first country in the world to take this approach, according to the Government of Canada.

The new Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labeling Regulations will be part of the government of Canada’s continued efforts to help adults who smoke to quit, to protect youth and nontobacco users from nicotine addiction and to further reduce the appeal of tobacco. Labeling the tipping paper of individual cigarettes, little cigars, tubes and other tobacco products will make it virtually impossible to avoid health warnings altogether. In addition, the regulations will support Canada’s Tobacco Strategy and its target of reaching less than 5 percent tobacco use by 2035, according to a government press release.

These regulations will come into force on Aug. 1, 2023, and will be implemented through a phased approach that will see most measures on the Canadian market within the year. Retailers will carry tobacco product packages that feature the new health-related messages by the end of April 2024. King-size cigarettes will be the first to feature the individual health warnings and will be sold by retailers in Canada by the end of July 2024 followed by regular size cigarettes, little cigars with tipping paper, and tubes by the end of April 2025.

Other measures include strengthening and updating health-related messages on tobacco product packages; extending the requirement for health-related messaging to all tobacco product packages; and implementing the periodic rotation of message.

The new regulations will be published in the June 7, 2023, edition of the Canada Gazette—Part II. In the interim, copies of the full regulations are available upon request by contacting pregs@hc-sc.gc.ca.