August 19, 2010

PSC's new report on smoking in movies concludes that more than 300,000 young Canadians became smokers as a result of watching Hollywood films.  Worse - Canadian tax dollars  helped make this happen. 

August 12, 2010

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and Uruguay's Centro de Investigacion para la epidemia de tabaquismo release a legal analysis by Todd Weiler which exposes Philip Morris' claims against Uruguay's new tobacco packaging law to be without merit.

July 22, 2010

PBR:  Performance Based Regulations.  Why governments need to stop playing cat-and-mouse with tobacco companies and instead require them under law to meet real health targets. 

July 1, 2010

	Smoking Rates by Province, 2000-2009
	Smoking Rates by age, 2000-2009
	Smoking Rates among young Canadians, by province, 2000-2009
	Exposure to Second-hand smoke at home, 2003-2009.
	Exposure to Second-hand smoke in public places 2003-2009.
	Exposure to Second-hand smoke in vehicles 2003-2009.
	New Brunswick: 2009
	Nova Scotia: 2009
	Saskatchewan: 2009
	British Columbia: 2009

Related Fact Sheets

• Smoking in Canada: Progress and funding: 2001-2008

May 28, 2010

The Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension Plan received $19 million as their share of the profits of global tobacco sales for 2009 -- over 30 times what Canada spends to support global tobacco control efforts.  PSC calls for Canada to live up to the spirit of the FCTC and stop investing in Big Tobacco.

Press release

Related Fact Sheets

• Canadian public pension investments in and revenues from global tobacco sales, 2009

• Canadian public pension investments in and revenues from global tobacco sales, 2008

Related Fact Sheets

• Tobacco Free Pharmacies

• Pharmacist counselling to support smokers’ quitting.

• Smoke-free patios: Percentage of Canadians living in communities where workers and public are protected
• Reported exposure to second hand smoke in public places .Canada 2008
• Smoke- free patios: A positive step that governments can take to further protect children, hospitality workers and the community from second-hand smoke.

Updated estimates of cigarette contraband for 2008 are now available.  Contraband rose from 27% of the total cigarette market in 2007 to 31% in 2008.

Estimating the volume of contraband sales of tobacco in Canada - Updated April 2010.

April 12, 2010

Gates Foundation pulls funding from Canadian government development agency over concerns about conflict of interest.

Statement by Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada

February 16, 2010

Federal government continues to subsidize tobacco farming after spending $300 million to phase it out. Physicians group is looking for answers from Minister Gerry Ritz.

News release

History of tobacco control in Canada
This new report reviews 1300 years of tobacco use and various strategies to control its use throughout all of tobacco's history and pre-history in Canada.  Here are some key findings of this 82-page report.

• Had a proposed ban on cigarettes that very nearly became law in 1904 been adopted, the course of history might have been very different.
• During periods when new and effective tobacco control measures were being introduced (1963-69, 1982-91, 1997-2006), tobacco consumption declined.
• When tobacco control was absent or quiescent (1908-1962, 1970-1981, and 1992-1996), tobacco consumption increased or was stable.
• The tobacco industry has always adapted to whatever control measures are in place to mitigate or negate their effect, in the interest of fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility of continuing to profit from tobacco.  They can be expected to continue to do so in the future.
• If tobacco control is to continue to be effective in the future, eternal vigilance will be required.

September 29, 2009.

Suing big tobacco should be about health, not just health care costs Physicians group calls for clear health goals to be included in litigation strategies. Press release

September 28, 2009. New fact sheets on tobacco agriculture and the global tobacco trade.

• Tobacco is still being grown in Ontario
• The global tobacco economy

September 10, 2009

Canada’s major health organizations are calling on the Senate of Canada to give priority to the passage of Bill C-32 (Cracking Down on Tobacco Marketing Aimed at Youth Act). The legislation would stop tobacco companies from using fruit, candy and other flavourings in cigarettes and cigarillos and would ban tobacco ads in publications that can be viewed by youth.

June 2009.  New fact sheets on flavoured and smoke-less tobacco

June 17, 2009

The Canadian Senate should speed up its passage of bill C-32, and send a clear message to the U.S. tobacco giant, "Philip Morris" to butt-out of Canadian health law.

May 26, 2009

Stronger Tobacco Law Welcomed.
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada today applauded the introduction of legislation to close loopholes in the existing Tobacco Act that have allowed tobacco companies to sell candy-flavoured cigarillos to Canadian kids.

April 24, 2009. 

Women deserve to be warned! 
PSC urges Health Canada to move quickly to put breast cancer warning on cigarette packages, and offers some examples of how it could be done.

April 3, 2009. 

Canada urged to follow Norway's lead. Following Norway's decision to exclude tobacco stocks from its public investment fund, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada ( renewed its call on the Canada Pension Plan and its governing body, provincial and federal Ministers of Finance, to stop using Canada Pension Plan contributions to support the global activities of tobacco companies.

January 15, 2009. 

Health over Profits: A call on 3 provincial governments in western Canada to ban tobacco sales in pharmacies. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada today called on the Governments of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to introduce legislation to abolish the sales of tobacco in pharmacies.

January 14, 2009

Canada's Doctors Remind Prime Minister of his Campaign Promise.  The Canadian Medical Association and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada reminded Prime Minister Harper today that he promised to crack down on the marketing of flavoured tobacco products, like cigarillos, that are aimed at children.

Press release:
Change the Rules - Campaign site

December 15, 2008

Action on Election Promise Urgently Needed
Health Groups Call on Prime Minister to Curb Tobacco Marketing
 A tobacco advertisement in Friday’s Ottawa Citizen – placed right beside the comics – is the most blatant example of the urgent need for the federal government to accelerate promised limits on tobacco company marketing, say Canadian Health Groups.

December 10, 2008

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada releases two new factsheets:

• Tobacco Tax Revenues (Provincial and Federal Governments), 1990-2007-

• Estimates of Contraband Sales of Tobacco in Canada, 2007

December 10, 2008

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) today welcomed the announcement by B.C. MLA, Adrian Dix, that he plans to introduce a private member's bill to clamp down on the marketing of kid-friendly tobacco products.

December 5, 2008

Ontario Bans Flavoured Cigarillos
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) today congratulated the Ontario Legislature for giving swift passage to private member's legislation to ban flavoured cigarillos -- and calls for the law to be put into effect immediately.

November 7, 2008

Canada falls short of its tobacco treaty commitments, reports the Global Tobacco Control Forum.

November 3, 2008

Nunavut-style leadership needed on First Nations tobacco issues.
 Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada today welcomed Leona Aglukkaq, from Gjoa Haven, Nunavut as Canada’s new Minister of Health.

(Ottawa - September 17, 2008)

Health Groups Welcome Measures to Protect Children from Tobacco Marketing

 Member agencies of the Canadian Coalition for Action on Tobacco welcomed today’s announcement that the marketing of flavoured cigarillos would be addressed through new tobacco regulations and legislation.

September 10, 2008

PSC calls on Auditor General to investigate bad deal with big tobacco.
Appeal follows statements by former tobacco exec that the settlement between the government and Imperial Tobacco and Rothmans, Benson and Hedges was "chump change" and that the government was "gutless" in its efforts to recover lost money.

August 30, 2008.

Many brands of cigarettes have failed 'fire-safe' tests.
Results of Health Canada's testing for compliance with Cigarette Ignition Propensity regulations show that 28 brands currently marketed in Canada do not reliably self-extinguish. Fact sheet.

July 31, 2008. 

Physicians plea for better approach
than corporate plea bargain.  
Today's announcement by the government of Canada that it had settled with two of the three multinational tobacco companies which supported and profited from the sale of untaxed cigarettes in the early 1990s is a disappointment, said Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.  (Press release)

July 29, 2008

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada responds to government proposals to end the single sale of cigarillos.  Yes! Now!... but much more needed.

• submission to Health Canada

July 24, 2008

Youth from Northwestern Ontario’s Youth Action Alliance (NWYAA) announced today the launch of Flavour…Gone! a youth-led campaign for changes to the federal Tobacco Act. 

July 3, 2008

Three additions to our web-site:

• Fact sheet: Recent trends in tobacco agriculture in Canada

• Regulatory submission: Quebec government proposals for cigarillos and permitted advertising

• Tobacco Industry document review: The plot against plain packing.

June 16, 2008

Canadian Coalition for Action on Tobacco welcomes proposed legislation to curb the marketing of novelty tobacco products.

April 9, 2008

PSC points to new consumer protection legislation as an example of stronger measures that are needed for tobacco.

March 5, 2008

PSC applauds Quebec government proposed regulation on tobacco advertising -- and wonders why more isn't being done by other levels of government.

February 19, 2008

PSC looks at data on cigarillo smoking and discovers that Canadian kids are as likely to be trying cigarillos as cigarettes.  Not surprisingly -- these products are sold in candy-flavours without health warnings and cost little more than a candy bar.

December 03, 2007

Japan Tobacco launches the first tobacco advertising campaign since the Supreme Court decision upheld the Tobacco Act by promoting a cigarette with 'less smell'.  PSC calls on Health Canada to clamp down on this misleading promotion (and to move forward with strengthening amendments to the law).

November 22, 2007

Doctors group says its time to close cigarillo-friendly loopholes in tobacco laws. A new Quebec government survey shows that cigarillos have become more popular than cigarettes among Quebec teenagers and are undermining progress against smoking among youth.

October 29, 2007

PSC releases a policy paper which outlines the benefits of including first nations in the global treaty process.

• press release

• paper

October 1, 2007

PSC responds to claims by Imperial Tobacco Canada that snus use is linked to lower smoking rates and fewer tobacco caused deaths by releasing comparative statistics on snus- and non-snus using countries. .

• PDF file: 
  The Snus Experience. Lessons from Norway, Sweden and Canada on the public health consequences of widespread oral tobacco use.

August 21, 2007

PSC welcomes the announcement by Canada's Minister of Health, the Honourable Tony Clement, of a new goal for reducing smoking:  12% prevalence by 2011.

August 2, 2007

Responding to tobacco industry research showing that  16% of Canadian smokers are buying their cigarettes on the black market, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada today renewed its call for government action against the growing problem of contraband tobacco sales.

July 31, 2007

July 31 is the deadline for tobacco companies to implement their voluntary agreement to remove 'light' and 'mild' from their cigarette packages.  PSC has reviewed their new packaging and is calling for tougher measures based in law.

June 28, 2007

Doctors' group welcomes Minister Clement's commitment to monitor and respond to tobacco industry marketing. 

June 27, 2007

Smoking Ban in Federal Prisons a healthy step forward. PSC applauds the decision by Corrections Canada to ban indoor and outdoor smoking in federal prisons. 

June 25, 2007

PSC calls for new legislation on tobacco advertising -- whatever the Supreme Court decision.  Press release and backgrounder.

May 17, 2007

A Statistical Portrait of Canadian Smokers, 2005.  Facts and Figures about Canadian smoking patterns, and their relationship to age, weight, education, etc.  (PDF)

April 11, 2007

Tobacco industry sponsorship mars Quebec business award. PSC calls on Royal Bank and other businesses to withdraw from co-sponsorship with tobacco companies.

March 6, 2007

Physician group welcomes British Columbia legislation. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) today congratulated British Columbia for introducing proposals to strengthen its tobacco laws.

February 19, 2007

PSC praises British Columbia for its continued legal leadership against tobacco companies. Only BC is suggesting that the Supreme Court should not give tobacco advertising the same protection that it gives to other forms of speech.  Find out why this is a good thing:  Press release.

February 16, 2007

PSC makes tobacco industry, government and intervenor arguments for  Supreme Court hearing on constitutional challenge to the Tobacco Act available here. 

February 2, 2007

PSC calls on big banks to stop helping criminals sell contraband cigarettes and asks them to use their role as members of the board of directors of VISA Canada to stop the VISA credit system from being used to help criminals sell illegal cigarettes.  Press release

January 24, 2007

PSC releases of a film about the life and campaign of Heather Crowe.

December 2006

First monitoring report on Canada's compliance with the Framework Convention on tobacco control.

This report was authored by Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada in collaboration with the organizations listed.  It was circulated at the first Conference of the Parties in Geneva in February 2006. 

December 18, 2006

PSC proposes methods to reduce tobacco smuggling. Our analysis shows that cigarette smuggling is a growing threat to Canadian health, and that the losses to the federal treasury more than offset the costs of restoring control over the tobacco market.  To address this problem, we proposed reforms to the way cigarette taxes are collected and increased controls over raw tobacco and other ingredients used in the manufacture of cigarettes.

November 09, 2006

PSC says the decision of the Competition Bureau to end its investigation on the sale of light cigarettes and accept instead a voluntary agreement to suspend the use of a very few marketing terms is a public health loss masquerading as a victory.

October 18, 2006

Physicians call for urgent action against cigarette smuggling.  (Ottawa - October 16, 2006)  In calling for government to act to curb illegal cigarette sales, a national anti-tobacco agency finds itself in the unusual position of agreeing with a cigarette manufacturer.

June 27, 2006

Minister of Labour urged to provide legislated protection from second-hand smoke – On the heels of the new U.S. Surgeon-General’s report demonstrating that second-hand smoke is even more dangerous than previously thought, Canadian health and labour organizations are calling on the federal Minister of Labour, the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, to provide federally-regulated workers with effective and legislated protection from exposure to second hand smoke.

May 31, 2006

New Fact Sheet showing 74% of Canadians now live in communities where they have legislated protection protected from exposure to second-hand smoke in workplaces and public places.

May 31, 2006

Continuing the work of Heather Crowe. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) called on Canadian legislators and citizens to continue to work together to continue Heather Crowe's campaign 'to be the last worker to die from second hand smoke.

• Message for parliamentarians

May 18, 2006

Motion for a Smoke-Free Canada.  PSC's President calls on lawmakers to support Senators' motion by passing laws to provide 100% legal protection from second-hand smoke in workplaces and public places.

May 3, 2006

PSC's Alberta director calls for Alberta’s drug strategy to address tobacco use as a gateway drug for illicit drugs like methamphetamine (“crystal meth”).

March 2006

FCTC Monitoring report
A civil society report on the steps Canada has taken to implement the FCTC.  (February 2006)

March 20, 2006

Latest edition of Info-Tabac.

March 10, 2006

What Wendy Mesley Didn’t Tell Canadians. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) today sent an open letter to Wendy Mesley, offering comments on a recent segment of Marketplace that dealt with cancer prevention.

February 21, 2006

Heather Crowe's condition worsens. Heather Crowe, the Ottawa waitress who was the subject of a Health Canada mass media campaign to educate Canadians about the dangers of second hand smoke, was admitted into palliative care in Ottawa this week.

January 2006

PSC releases a backgrounder on pharmacy sale of cigarettes in Canada (PDF)

December 12, 2005

Health December 12, 2005 Groups Urge Feds to Ban Tobacco Advertising.  (Ottawa – December 12, 2005) - On the tenth anniversary of the federal recommendation to completely ban tobacco advertising, health agencies are calling on the government to finally implement this measure.

December 2, 2005

Our 2005 newsletter -- a review of the year's events. (PDF)

November 2, 2005

Physicians file complaint with Alberta College of Pharmacists over tobacco sales in pharmacies.

October 21, 2005

Imperial Tobacco’s closure of tobacco plants is an opportunity to say “good buy” . Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) today called on the government to stop the “rape and run” tactics of tobacco business corporations by buying tobacco companies outright and seeing that they are run in the public interest to phase out tobacco completely by 2030.

October 20, 2005

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) today called on the federal government to refer the question of a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising to the Supreme Court of Canada.

August 16, 2005

Heather Crowe readmitted to hospital. It is with great sadness that Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada informs Heather Crowe’s admirers and well-wishers that her cancer is no longer in remission.  Heather Crowe has been admitted to hospital in Ottawa where she has learned her cancer has spread to her liver, and she is now undergoing tests to determine if her cancer has spread even further.

July 26, 2005

The magic formula for selling cigarettes—make it easier to control the nicotine dose. Research conducted by Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC) has found that the most popular cigarette brands are those which are manufactured in ways which make it easier for a smoker to control the dose of nicotine.

June 20, 2005

Because the public health goal of reducing tobacco use directly conflicts with the tobacco industry’s profit motive, the way to overcome the health, social and economic problems caused by “big tobacco” is to take the business of supplying cigarettes out of their hands and put it into the hands of. public organizations with a clear public health mandate. This is the main recommendation of a new study published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and prepared by Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. 

June 20, 2005

In the 1990's two Toronto television stations sold parts of their news broadcasts as thinly disguised tobacco promotions to a tobacco company.  If a tobacco company can buy the news, who else can buy the news?  PSC makes public previously secret contracts between Rothman's, Benson and Hedges and its media partners, City-TV and CFTO-TV.

June 16, 2005

PSC makes public its letter to Health Minister urging that  medical marijuana is "smokeless".

June 15, 2005

Cigarettes sold in Canada as of October 1st will be less likely to cause fires. The Non-Smoker’s Rights Association and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada congratulate Canada’s Minister of Health, Ujjal Dosanjh, for ensuring that all cigarettes sold in Canada after October 1st 2005 meet the Cigarette Ignition Propensity Regulations published last Monday, the 13th of June. The new regulations will make cigarettes less likely to start fires, by making cigarettes that are left unattended either generate less heat or extinguish themselves. Between 1995 and 1999, unattended cigarettes caused fires that killed a total of 356 people and injured 1615 more.
 

May 31, 2005

A World No Tobacco Day Message from Canada’s Health Professionals.  Leading Canadian health agencies are calling on the federal government to articulate how Canada will continue to help developing countries protect their citizens from tobacco industry products.  This call comes on the first World No Tobacco Day since the international Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (the FCTC) came into force.

May 17, 2005

Physicians applaud new initiatives to strengthen tobacco control in Newfoundland, Quebec and Ontario.  When implemented, these new measures will dramatically increase the number of Canadians living in smoke-free jurisdictions to 75% within one year.

April 27, 2005

PSC condemns $100 million election goodie for tobacco farmers and proposes a better long-term solution to the problems of Ontario's tobacco farmers.

• News release

• A proposal for managing tobacco supply reduction in Ontario 2005 to 2030

• Full proposal, April, 2005

• Slide presentation

April 21, 2005

Updated fact-sheet on second hand smoke protection across Canada. 

February 27, 2005

The Alberta government now has an increased obligation to protect the public from second hand smoke, says a national group of Canadian physicians. 

February 25, 2005

Landmark Tobacco Treaty Takes Effect on February 27th -  an historic moment for global public health. On this day, the world’s first modern health treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), comes into force.

• Proposals to end the deception of 'light' and 'mild' cigarettes. (2005)

• Response to government proposals to require health  warning labels on some tobacco advertisements(2004)

• Response to government proposals to improve Canada's cigarette health warning labels. (2004)

January 17, 2005

Tobacco company payments to retailers for cigarette promotions increase by 50%.  Doctors call for an end to retail-promotions of cigarettes.  Information released by Health Canada last week under Access to Information laws shows that tobacco companies are spending more than ever on retail promotions of cigarettes, and that the average payment to retailers has increased by more than 50% in the past three years.

PSC releases the English version of the latest edition of Info-tabac, the newsletter, for a tobacco-free Quebec (no 55, January 2005.

Read all about it!  PSC makes public the RCMP search warrant used to search Imperial Tobacco for evidence about its contribution to tobacco smuggling in the early 1990s

Ontario measures weaker than needed.
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada expressed concern that the new measures introduced by the Ontario government fall short of their election promise -- and far short of the public health need.

December 14, 2004

Fall newsletter.  Canadians say "YES" to phasing out tobacco (PDF)

December 14, 2004

Parliament and Health Canada work together to protect lives.  Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada congratulated Health Canada, the Senate and the House of Commons for working together to reduce fires caused by cigarettes. 

(Ottawa) – The ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) by forty countries, including Canada, is an occasion for global celebration.

November 4, 2004

R-A-T-I-F-Y.  Kingston students spell-out need for Canada to ratify the new global tobacco treaty

Students from several Kingston high schools arrive in Ottawa today as part of their ongoing campaign to support the new global tobacco treaty (the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, or FCTC). 

Tobacco companies must be held accountable for deliberately deceiving their customers.  PSC hopes that Canadian courts will certify a class action suit and hold tobacco companies accountable for the harmful marketing of cigarettes as ‘light’ or ‘mild.’
 

October edition of Info-tabac. 

Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada and Info-tabac launch the English edition of the premiere newsletter on tobacco issues. 

September 7, 2004

Mourning the Death of Joe Battaglia,
a Court Room Fighter for Tobacco Control

August 26, 2004

Students blow smoke on campus tobacco marketing. 

PSC asks 20 university university students to review campus policies on tobacco -- they found extensive tobacco industry marketing in Canadian universities and colleges and widespread participation of university and college administrations in these marketing activities.

• press release

• report (pdf)

• results - powerpoint (pdf)

August 24, 2004

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada today released its correspondence to the President and Chief Executive Officer of Imperial Tobacco, Luc Jobin.  PSC is requesting Mr. Jobin to rescind any permission it has given the Forsythe Racing team to use Player's racing imagery or designs. 

July 22, 2004

Tobacco Treaty Deserves Urgent Attention of new Foreign Minister.  Health groups call on Canada’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs to quickly ratify the new global tobacco treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

• Press Release

July 20, 2004

Appointment of Ujjal Dosanjh as Health Minister could mean stronger federal action against tobacco.

• Press Release

June 11, 2004

Hot off the press! Our Spring 2004 newsletter -- items on government cut-backs, reduced ignition potential cigarettes, Canada Pension Plan investments in tobacco - and whatever did happen to the ban on light and mild!?

• Newsletter

May 31, 2004

Think Globally, Ratify Locally.  PSC asks provincial ministers of health to clear the way for Canada's ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

• Press release

April 30, 2004

Canada Pension Plan investments used to oppose Canadian Health Warnings on international sale of Marlboro cigarettes. Doctors' group asks Minister of Health to Intervene.

• Press release

April 6, 2004

Several Canadian health groups today called on the Prime Minister to ensure that the federal government’s anti-smoking programme is not sacrificed to pay for “new” government priorities. 

• Press release

• Letter to Prime Minister

• Background

March 31, 2004

Doctors ask Bob Speller to fairly compensate tobacco farmers and phase out tobacco growing in Canada by 2010.

• Press Release
  Letter to Minister Speller

March 31, 2004

Fire-safe cigarettes will be required in Canada by year's end.  Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and Non-Smoker's Rights Association congratulate parliament on the passage of C-260. Press Release;  (also En francais)
 

March 8, 2004

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada welcomes suggestions that Imperial Tobacco will end subsidies to Canadian tobacco farmers.  Press release 

March 2, 2004

Updated fact-sheet on second hand smoke protection across Canada.  

March 2, 2004

Heather Crowe congratulates Manitoba for introducing legislation to protect workers and the public from second-hand smoke. 

January 26, 2004 -

Ottawa – Health Canada's deputy minister should withdraw from the board of the Public Policy Forum after that agency appoints Jodi White, a former senior manager of IMASCO as its president, we suggest. 
 

January 21, 2004 - Weedless Wednesday

Action on Smoking and Health, the Lung Association and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada teamed up to bring Heather Crowe to Alberta for National Non-Smoking Week.  In Calgary today, Weedless Wednesday, Heather Crowe called on Canada's Labour Ministers, who are meeting in Banff January 22 and 23 to ban tobacco smoke from all Canadian workplaces - no ifs, ands or butts!

• Press release

• Heather Crowe's January 15, 2004 letter to Labour Ministers

• Questions and answers on second-hand smoke and labour laws in Canada

January 14, 2004

The federal government needs to increase tobacco taxes and close a tax loophole that favours roll-your-own cigarettes.  That's today's message to Finance Minister Ralph Goodale from Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and its partners in the Canadian Coalition for Action on Tobacco (CCAT).

• Press release

• CCAT tax brief - "A Win-WIn: Enhancing Public Health and Public Revenue"

January 10, 2004

We're back.  The newest edition of filtertips -- the only e-zine on cigarette marketing in Canada.
 

January 2, 2004

New York regulators require fire-safe cigarettes and New Zealand researchers show how easily it can be done.  PSC calls for Health Canada to get the lead - and the citrate - out.  Press release.
 

December 10, 2003

Heather Crowe asks to meet Premier Ralph Klein to urge him to make all Alberta workplaces smoke-free. Press release
 

December 9, 2003

Heather Crowe wrote to Labour Ministers for the second year in a row asking them to ban smoking in all Canadian workplaces. Press release 

December 8, 2003

Exposing workers to cigarette smoke could be a criminal offence.  The newly-adopted Bill C-45 ("The Westray Bill") places a high level of duty on employers and managers to make workplaces safe and healthy.  A workplace that is not smoke-free is not healthy. Press release
 

December 1, 2003

Happy Birthday?  Two years after indication that 'light' and 'mild' would be banned, not much has happened.  PSC calls on government to explain.  Press release
 

November 27, 2003

Tobacco companies use bully tactics to silence health groups.  PSC calls their bluff.  News release and related documents
 

November 11, 2003

Canada should ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - and set high standards for its implementation. 

• Press release

• Draft legislation

• Backgrounder.

October 21, 2003

Updated fact sheet:  Tobacco in Canada:  A primer on tobacco issues. 

October 12, 2003

Which province has the cleanest air?  Check our new fact sheet on second hand smoke in Canadian communities to find out. 

October 3, 2003

“The Ball Is In Your Court”
Doctors call on federal Health Minister and parliamentarians to restore Saskatchewan’s ban on retail displays of cigarettes.

September 29, 2003

450,000 Fewer Children Exposed to Smoke at Home
Doctors pay tribute to progress against tobacco. 

•  Advertisement from Hill Times.

September 4, 2003

PSC takes an "even handed" approach to the du Maurier Arts Foundation.

September 3, 2003

An open letter to Bernie Ecklestone -- the man behind the Formula 1 threats.

September 3, 2003

Many many reasons to celebrate the end of tobacco sponsorship.

August 14, 2003

PSC thanks Prime Minister for resisting pressure to exempt Formula 1 racing from restrictions on tobacco promotions.

July 30, 2003

Fact sheet.  Reflections on the "Swedish Experience."  Should snus-use be encouraged as part of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy. 

July 14, 2003

News-release.  Canada’s Help Needed to Stem Global Tobacco Pandemic.  Canadian health and development agencies are calling on the Canadian government to increase its support for measures to reduce global tobacco use.

June 26, 2003

News-release.  PSC shows that the government spends more in tax expenditures for cigarette promotions than it does on anti-tobacco initiatives, and calls for government to end tax-breaks for tobacco promotions. 

June 13, 2003

News-release.  Doctors welcome proposed changes to Canada's Criminal Law. Revamped criminal code could protect workers and public from second hand smoke.

May 20th, 2003

News-release. Heather Crowe pays tribute to Barbara Tarbox.

March 24, 2003

News-release.  PSC says $10 billion court judgment one more reason to ban 'light' cigarette labels.

March 4, 2003

Imperial Tobacco Canada profits go up! UP! UP!!  New fact sheets:

Imperial Tobacco Profits 1977-2002
Imperial Tobacco Earnings Per Cigarette:  1990 - 2002
Imperial Tobacco Profit Margins:  1977-2002

February 28, 2003

News-release.  Canadian health groups welcome text for global tobacco treaty.

January 29, 2003

Report of a 2002 Workshop on Second Hand Smoke and Occupational Health Law.

January 22, 2003

Health Minister Challenged to Follow Through on Big Ticket Tobacco Control Measures.  On the occasion of National Non-Smoking Week, Canadian health groups call on the federal government to follow through on promised regulatory and legislative reforms.

December 9, 2002

Cost UNDERruns Will Harm Health.  Docs ask Auditor General to investigate Health Canada cuts to anti-tobacco programmes.  Press release and Letter to Auditor General

November 27, 2002

Heather Crowe asks Labour Ministers to ban smoking in all Canadian workplaces. 

• Press Release;

• Letter from Heather Crowe to Ministers of Labour

• List of Ministers of Labour.

November 18, 2002

PSC's fall newsletter reviews latest developments in Tobacco Control in Canada (pdf)

November 11, 2002

The marketing of KOOL cigarettes is anything but!  PSC and its partners ask the Minister of Health to step in to protect kids.

• Press Release

• Letter to Minister

November 4, 2002

Making sure that custody agreements protect children from second hand smoke can be a complex and difficult task. 

PSC has prepared a resource to help guide parents through this important process.

October 2, 2002

Imperial Tobacco has introduced nitrosamine-reduced cigarettes -- and other tobacco companies have similarly modified their products.  But are they safer? 

PSC looks at the evidence from Imperial Tobacco's own science laboratories.

October 1, 2002

PSC reviews the responsibilities of governments to protect foster children and other children in care from second hand smoke.

September 13 2002

New reviews of Canadian marketing.  How Cigarette Advertising Works; Current Tobacco Industry Activities; Tobacco Industry Documents.  (PDF).  Also available in HTML

July 21, 2002

Canadian Coalition for Action on Tobacco congratulates Ottawa for its success in going smoke-free. (en francais!)

April 24, 2002

PSC sends a message to Big Tobacco:  Stop killing babies.

March 25, 2002

PSC releases a set of tobacco industry documents showing that the Canadian tobacco companies worked together to block smoking restrictions.  

March 11, 2002

PSC prepares an annotated text of the proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.  More information on the Framework Convention is available at www.fctc.org

March 1, 2002

PSC make available the proceedings of a workshop on second hand smoke in Canadian communities.

February 15, 2002

Edition 3 of "Filtertips" - Canada's only e-zine on tobacco promotion

January 23, 2002

On Weedless Wednesday, PSC calls for safer marijuana policy.  Press release and position paper.

October 9, 2001

Autumn edition of Y2Quit newsletter released.  Download newsletter or see Y2Quit web-page (intended for physicians).

October 2, 2001

B.C. citizens support smoke-free regulations.  PSC commissions public opinion poll on reversal of WCB opinion.  Press Release and Poll results (by party and by region).

September 10, 2001

PSC uncovers tobacco industry documents showing that smokers don't stop frequenting bars and restaurants after a smoking ban.  Press release

August 13, 2001

1.4 million Canadian smokers are deceived by light and mild descriptors on cigarettes.  PSC releases a fact sheet based on purchased Statistics Canada survey data. See also background research on 'light and mild' cigarettes (pdf) and an html version.

June 27, 2001

Ottawa's smoke-free by-laws are valid, says Ottawa lawyer David Hill, in an opinion commissioned by Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.  Press Release.  

June 6, 2001

PSC releases report on "Elastic" cigarettes (but it's the companies, not the cigarettes that are rubbery!).  Press Release, Research Paper and Table of Results.

June 5, 2001

PSC praises Joe Battaglia for taking on Big Tobacco.  Press Release

May 30, 2001

PSC releases a report on its activities to its members during its Annual General Meeting.  Information on the new board of directors and financial statements is also made public.

May 25, 2001

PSC releases a letter to Members of Parliament regarding S-15 (the Tobacco Youth Protection), drawing attention to two significant flaws in the legislation that may not be amendable in the House of Commons.

May 23, 2001

PSC releases analysis of how trade agreements can threaten tobacco control measures.  An Introduction to International Trade Agreements and their impact on Public Measures to Reduce Tobacco Use, can be downloaded in pdf format (360k, with optional cover, 127k), or ordered by contacting PSC.  See also Press Release. 

May 15, 2001

PSC contributes to a University of Toronto Study on second-hand smoke and Ontario Labour law.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke.  Protection from second-hand tobacco smoke in Ontario.  A review of the evidence regarding best practices.

Also see new fact sheets on second-hand smoke 

April 25, 2001

PSC raises concerns about tobacco industry lobbying for S-15.

April 5, 2001

Government announces tax increases and program funding increases -- PSC responds with applause.

March 6, 2001

The proposed hand-out to tobacco farmers:
Bad health policy.  Bad agricultural policy.  Bad public policy.  Press Release..

February 7, 2001

Was the RCMP directed to go easy on companies involved in the tobacco black market? Health groups want to know.  -- Two national tobacco control agencies are asking the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP  to investigate the failure of the RCMP to lay charges against any senior tobacco industry officials with respect to the smuggling of more than 30 billion cigarettes into Canada between 1990 and 1994. Press Release; Letter to RCMP Complaints Commission; Background on Smuggling (pdf format)

January 24, 2001

Health Groups Applaud BC's Leadership in Tobacco Control.  Three of Canada's leading tobacco control agencies today applauded the relaunch of British Columbia's lawsuit against the tobacco industry. Press Release

January 16, 2001

Newly released tobacco documents show plans to deceive consumers and authorities. Release of a new batch of formerly secret tobacco industry documents reveals disturbing details about tobacco industry scientists’ cynical disregard for human safety, say Canada's leading anti-tobacco groups. Press Release

October 10, 2000

Negotiations Begin on Global Treaty on Tobacco.  Canadian Health groups prepare for public hearings and negotiations on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.  Press Release

May 31, 2000

World No Tobacco Day Forum on Tobacco Industry Documents.  PSC hosted a meeting of researchers from across Canada (and around the world!) to discuss newly-released tobacco industry documents.   News-release. Link to special document web

March 15, 2000

PSC Comments on draft text proposed by the World Health Organization for a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.   download PDF file.   Or go to International Issues page

 February 8, 2000

Press Release.  "DOCTORS' GROUP CALLS ON B.C. GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE TOBACCO INDUSTRY DOCUMENTS"  Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada is challenging the decision by B.C.'s Ministry of Health to keep secret thousands of pages of tobacco industry documentation.  download PDF file.

December 7, 1999

Slideshow: "So What If I Smoke? Facts You Should Know". Filled with unusual but vital health information on the effects of smoking and ETS, this PowerPoint presentation was created with high school youth in mind, but can be modified to captivate any age audience. Includes personal stories. Click here to visit our slideshow page.

November 26, 1999

How Are Cigarettes Tested? Ever wonder how they come up with the numbers on the side of cigarette packages? This fact sheet lets you know. download PDF file.

Ventilation. What is ventilation? Is it safe to smoke indoors if you increase the ventilation? download PDF file .

November 11, 1999

Manipulation:  The Story of Imperial Tobacco and Its Cigarettes.  PSC releases an analysis of Canadian tobacco industry documents.  Press release with links to report

From Montreal to Minnesota.  The little-known story of the first release of tobacco industry documents in a Canadian court - and the impact that had years later in the land-mark Minnesota trial. download PDF file

October 25, 1999

Surveying the Damage.  A report compiled by four health groups (including PSC) reviewing the impact of the 1994 Canadian tax-roll back.  Press release.  Complete report (pdf)

October 21, 1999

Mini Survey #1: University Youth & Smoke-Filled Bars. A survey of University youth in Ottawa gives a snapshot of youth attitudes towards second-hand smoke, as well as age of access to bars and cigarettes.
download PDF file

October 15, 1999

Updated Links page: A few new links to other websites of interest.

September 30, 1999

Dictionary of Tobacco Terms. Ever wonder what "pressure-drop" is?  Or how reconstituted tobacco is made?  We've culled tobacco industry documents for answers to these questions. Click above for PDF version; to access easy-to-use online version click here.

Second-Hand Smoke. A booklet which highlights why you should support smoke-free policies, the health issues involved and the chemicals released in second-hand smoke, and summarizes studies on ventilation. In PDF format.

Tobacco Specific Nitrosamines. What are TSNA's? A Factsheet in PDF format.

Airports Factsheet. Which Canadian airports allow smoking? Which Canadian airports are smoke-free? In PDF format.

September 6, 1999

Tobacco in Canada.  A booklet offering a quick synopsis of tobacco issues in Canada (including mortality figures, smoking rates, brands sold and lots of other interesting stuff!).  In PDF format.

July 12, 1999

Newsletter - Volume 17-#1.  June 1999  PSC's most recent newsletter in PDF form. (Contact us if you want to be added to the mailing list)

June 24, 1999

Press Release.  Cigarette smoke in homes with children. PSC releases 3 fact sheets on the exposure of Canadian children to second hand smoke..

June 1, 1999

Results of the 1999 Annual General Meeting -- including updated financial statements and board of directors.

PSC Awards Dr. Richard Stanwick the Dr. Norman C. Delarue Prize.

Smoking Cessation:  Beyond Pharmacological Solutions. PSC looks at the evidence of the impact of nicotine replacement on Canadian smokers.

May 28, 1999

Women Protest Vantage Award. PSC supports campaign to encourage women to stop shilling cigarettes.

May 18, 1999

What am I inhaling? An interactive web-experience.  Find out how much a smoker inhales of  40 selected chemicals.

May 14, 1999

Proposals for new cigarette packages unveiled by the Tobacco or Kids coalition!

April 28, 1999

Press release.  6,000 pages of secret tobacco documents made public

April 26, 1999

Press release.  Rothmans Benson & Hedges flauts Tobacco Act with package "testimonials"

March 1999

Latest edition of our e-zine about tobacco marketing, Filter-Tips!

January 1999

New background information on retail promotion of cigarettes, and the misleading nature of 'light' and 'mild' cigarettes

November 16, 1998

New report on tobacco-free mutual funds, plus a convenient list of tobacco companies around the world.

October 28, 1998

New report on tobacco industry advertising expenditures, with press release.  Look in "press rele