[Intl-tobacco] Ottawa will ban cigarettes marketed under the terms 'light' or 'mild' says Rock (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

Ottawa will ban cigarettes marketed under the terms 'light' or 'mild' says Rock
by ALEXANDER PANETTA / Canadian Press
Source: Canadian Press, Tuesday, 8/14/01

Health Minister Allan Rock says tobacco companies will be barred from
marketing cigarettes as ``light'' or ``mild.'' Rock says such terms give
smokers a false sense of security. And he accuses the companies of putting
profit ahead of public health. (CP)

QUEBEC (CP) - Tobacco companies will be banned from marketing cigarettes
as "light" or "mild" because the terms deceive people and encourage
smoking, Federal Health Minister Allan Rock announced Monday. Rock dared
the tobacco industry to challenge the proposed legislation, which could be
drafted as early as this fall.

"Let them argue for their so-called right to deceive," Rock said in a
speech at the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association.

"Labelling cigarettes as light and mild offers smokers a false sense of
security based on slick marketing and the misuse of words.

"Make no mistake: there is nothing light or mild about the lies of big
tobacco."

The tobacco industry has said terms such as light are not misleading
because they accurately describe comparative tar levels in cigarettes.

The president and CEO of Canada's largest tobacco company said Monday he
was surprised by the timing of Rock's announcement.

"Our company was in the midst of a series of meetings with Health Canada
and sharing information with the department," said Bob Bexon of
Montreal-based Imperial Tobacco.

"We believe that there is a need for a system that will permit consumers
to navigate through the 'tar' spectrum of brand families on the market,"
he said in a statement.

"We can only hope that any new system will not create confusion in the
market and inadvertently cause smokers to revert back to higher 'tar'
products," Bexon said, adding that Imperial will "continue working with"
Ottawa.

About 45,000 Canadians die each year from smoking and billions of
health-care dollars are spent treating tobacco victims - even though
Canada has registered its lowest-ever smoking rates.

Rock called cigarettes "public-health issue No. 1" and said Ottawa will
continue raising tobacco taxes in its bid to cut smoking rates by 20 per
cent within 10 years.

Three months ago, Rock warned that the federal government would take
action unless tobacco companies dropped the marketing terms, which they
introduced in 1976. Rock said Monday that the tobacco industry failed to
respond.

"Cigarettes labelled light and mild are as lethal as any other cigarette
and the tobacco companies knew this when they introduced and promoted
them," he said.

About four out of 10 smokers use light cigarettes, which have marginally
fewer toxins than regular brands. For instance, Player's Light cigarettes
contain about eight per cent less nicotine and 10 per cent less carbon
monoxide than a regular du Maurier cigarette, according to package labels.

However, the labels show that each cigarette has the exact same level of
formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and benzene.

The slight health advantage of light cigarettes is erased when people
inhale them more deeply to extract additional nicotine, Rock told about
500 medical association members.

Several members of the medical establishment said they were pleased with
Rock's promise to get tough with tobacco companies.

"We don't think there is such a thing as light cigarettes," said Peter
Barrett, outgoing president of the Canadian Medical Association.

Documents obtained through court proceedings in recent years show that the
tobacco industry has long been aware low-tar cigarettes may keep smokers
from quitting.

"We have evidence of virtually no quitting among smokers of these brands,"
says a 1978 Imperial document.

However, several health officials questioned why Rock was coming down on
tobacco companies while allowing marijuana to be legally used for
medicinal purposes.

Henry Haddad, president-elect of the medical association, said Ottawa
failed to properly test marijuana before allowing it to be used to relieve
pain in terminal and chronic-care patients.