Canada's federal health minister, Jane Philpott, has just opened the door to the possibility of upgrading 18 to 21 from the national minimum age for the purchase of tobacco products.
AN INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM AGE TO REDUCE SMOKING
Without going so far as to share her personal opinion, she explained that at the very least, pushing the limits to achieve the goal that Canada has set for itself in terms of tobacco control. The government wants to reduce the smoking rate to less than 5% by 2035. However, even if this rate fell from 22 to 13% from 2001 to 2015, according to federal data, this represents in the eyes of the minister too slow progress, particularly among young people.
« If we want to achieve this goal, we need to have very bold ideas ", Explained Wednesday Mrs. Philpott on the sidelines of a speech. "Jhave a huge responsibility, we have to figure out how to reduce the smoking rate and how to make sure that young people do not start smoking She continued.
The legal age in Canada for purchasing tobacco products is currently set at 18 or 19 depending on the province or territory.
A DECISION THAT IS DRAWN
The minister said no decision has yet been made on raising the national minimum age, an idea contained in a Health Canada report released last week. The federal government must first complete a public consultation that was launched at the same time as the tabling of the report, a process that will end in mid-April, said Jane Philpott.
The minister also clarified that she has already surveyed the political ground and discussed with her provincial and territorial counterparts the issue of the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products. She noted that British Columbia's Minister of Health, Terry Lake, recently launched in his province the idea of raising the legal age to 21.
Recall that the most proactive measures in the past to force smokers to quit in public were first adopted in Canada in the western part of the country in the 80 years before spreading gradually a decade later in the East.
AND WHAT ABOUT QUEBEC?
The Quebec Minister of Public Health, Lucie Charlebois, was not available Wednesday to discuss the possibility of passing 18 to 21 at the minimum age for the purchase of tobacco products. However, her press secretary, Bianca Boutin, wrote in an email that the Quebec government was going to " follow very closely the work of the federal government on this subject ».
Source : Rcinet.ca
