The price of tobacco in Quebec remains the lowest in the country

Montreal, June 15, 2015 – Following the unanimous adoption of two motions concerning smoking, which asked the Government of Quebec that the electronic cigarette is subject to the Tobacco Act and a revision of the law , an elected group unites Montrealers to mobilize public support in the draft law Nº44. It was filed on 5 May by the Minister for Public Health, Lucie Charlebois, and is entitled An Act to strengthen tobacco control.

In March, the City Council voted in favor of the anti-smoking campaign 10% in 10 years, launched by over 50 organizations working in the health field. Several key proposals of this strategy are reflected in Bill 44.

However, other elements, such as the requirement for tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging or the enlargement of the smoking ban in public places accessible to children, are not present in the project law.

“Although it meets the main demands of the city council, we believe that demand an amendment to ban smoking in public places also applies to children’s playgrounds, sports grounds and public beaches,” says Marvin Rotrand, Councillor Snowdon.

Another aspect on which Quebec has been delayed and that of the price. For several years, the price of tobacco in Quebec is the lowest of all Canadian provinces. Currently the price of a carton of cigarettes is $ 85.39 in Quebec, while the Canadian average is $ 103.84 and in Manitoba it reached $ 127.39. “A lower cost of cartons of cigarettes does not encourage smokers to change their behavior and is an obstacle to tobacco control,” says Justine McIntyre counselor, adviser of the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

That is why a group of elected officials including Ms. Lorraine Pagé, Head of Real change for Montreal and advisor of Sault-au-Recollet, Ms. Manon Barbe, Mayor of LaSalle, Claude Dauphin, borough mayor Lachine, Mrs. Elsie Lefebvre, Villeray advisor and Associate Councillor for Transport’s Executive Committee, Mr. Domenico Moschella, councilor in Saint-Léonard-East and Jeremy Searle, consultant of Loyola, and Ms. McIntyre and Mr. Rotrand asks the Government of Quebec to increase taxes on tobacco products.

Increasing the price of tobacco products is also a long-standing demand of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, and other health groups. “In addition to generating additional revenues, these measures would have the effect of discouraging the use of tobacco among smokers and reducing smoking rates in Quebec,” says Dr. Genevieve Wood of the Quebec Coalition for control tobacco.

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Marvin Rotrand