On Cigarette Packs, a Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

The Conservative government’s decision not to update the images on the warning labels of cigarette packs puts our nation at risk.

When the Canadian government regulated the addition of graphic pictures to warning labels on cigarette packaging 10 years ago, the initiative was celebrated around the world. Cancerous lungs, a tobacco-ravaged mouth, a wilted cigarette acting as a reminder of the effect of smoking on male sexual performance – these shocking, attention-grabbing images were all part of the remarkable success of this anti-tobacco strategy.

From the beginning of the campaign, it was clear that the images would have to be updated if they were to remain disturbing. The pictures that have been on packages for 10 years are now familiar. Because they are no longer shocking they don’t command attention anymore, and are therefore predictably less effective.

In light of the success of the original venture, it is unsettling that the Conservative government has suddenly decided to abandon the longstanding plan to replace the pictures on cigarette packages with newer images. Despite spending millions of dollars and years gathering expert advice, the government has chosen to walk away from a strategy that is rooted in hard evidence.

University of Waterloo professor Geoffrey Fong has stated, “The decision to cancel the refreshed warnings, including the plans to add a toll-free, quit smoking number, is tragic … It is just senseless.”

An image of Edmonton anti-smoking crusader Barbara Tarbox before her death was to be part of the new warnings. Barbara had hoped that her picture, which showed a real person dying from years of smoking, could be effective in dissuading young people from the deadly addiction. While the U.S. plans to honour her wishes, Canada will not.

Canada has long been considered a world leader in tobacco control. Our nation pioneered creative and innovative approaches that culminated in a four-part strategy consisting of legislation and regulation, enforcement, research, and public education. In 1997, when the smoking rate was at 31 per cent, the Liberal government committed $100 million to the Tobacco Control Initiative. When the Liberals were defeated in 2006, the rate had declined to 19 per cent, demonstrating the campaign’s overwhelming success. That year, the goal of the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy became to reduce the overall prevalence of smoking from 19 per cent to 12 per cent by 2011.

Since the Conservative government has come to power, however, the steady decline in smoking rates has come to an abrupt halt, with the rate stalled at 19 per cent. The government’s failure to deal with the critical issue of contraband tobacco has resulted in easy access to cheap cigarettes without fire retardant paper. Estimates indicate that contraband cigarettes make up almost half of the cigarettes smoked by Canada’s young people.

The Harper administration, however, continues to choose ideology – in particular, that there should be reduced government intervention in corporations and the lives of citizens – over evidence-based, life-saving policies. Tom Blackwell reported in the National Post that Health Canada informed provincial governments that it was shelving the commitment to implement new warnings in order to concentrate more on fighting contraband tobacco, but this is a ridiculous excuse. We can – and must – do both.

An editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Nov. 8, 2010 concluded: “We should all be outraged about the suspension of efforts to renew tobacco warning labels. Few people – even in government – would likely dispute the great importance and high incidence of the often gruesome consequences of smoking illustrated on cigarette packages. Let us therefore hope that our elected officials hear and heed the many Canadians whom their senseless policy shift has disappointed and angered.”

This is a deadly serious issue for all Canadians. Not only will needless numbers of people die from cancer and heart disease in the years to come, but reducing the smoking rate has short-term benefits for our nation’s health and health care. As smoking rates drop, so do incidences of premature births and post-operative pneumonia.

Anyone who has been paying attention to the disappointing lack of progress in the fight to lower smoking rates in Canada since the Conservative government took office should be outraged at this deadly decision. Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Party believe that the government has a moral responsibility to prevent the preventable. Canadians deserve a government that is prepared to do everything possible to keep its citizens healthy and ensure the sustainability of our publicly funded health-care system.

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