Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
On the eve of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, federal Health Minister Jane Philpott has a chance to explain why she is exhibiting a disturbing degree of incoherence with her recent approaches to the regulation of tobacco and marijuana.
Public explanation is needed as both pot and tobacco are addictive substances with known, and, in some cases, similar health risks. This suggests that marijuana and tobacco should face a similar regulatory framework, but the minister appears to be headed in the opposite direction, giving far more leniency to the marijuana industry.
For example, with tobacco the minister is proposing plain and standardized packaging, despite cigarette packages having a 75-per-cent health warning and being hidden from public view at point of sale. However, with marijuana, the minister says all that is required is a restriction on packaging or labelling to ensure product packaging isn't appealing to young persons.
There is clear policy incoherence, which is even more apparent when you consider the minister claims her goal with both pot and tobacco legislation is to protect youth. How can two legislative frameworks, for products that both carry known health risks, have the same stated goal, yet vastly different approaches?
Moreover, the youth-usage rate for marijuana is higher than that for tobacco, and the health minister acknowledges that Canadian youth have the highest rate of pot use in the world.
The federal government has also gone to great lengths to claim its goal is to eliminate the black market for marijuana. The government has even suggested that taxes on pot will be kept low to allow competition with the illegal market. Conversely, governments across Canada have and continue to tax cigarettes to such an extent that it contributed to the creation of an illegal market that now accounts for 20 per cent of the tobacco market in the country.
More remarkably, the health minister launched a consultation on raising the smoking age to 21 while at the same time arguing the legal age for marijuana should be 18.
If the minister truly believes her policy approach to marijuana is effective, then surely it can be applied to tobacco. Instead, Parliament is about to have the spectacle of the minister arguing on one day that branding on tobacco packaging lures youth to smoking and should be banned, while on the next day suggesting branding should be allowed for marijuana.
And why is the tobacco-control community quiet in this debate? Vocal anti-tobacco advocates have been largely silent on the issue of marijuana legalization, despite studies that show smoking pot has similar health risks to smoking tobacco.
There is an opportunity for the health minister to demonstrate that she is serious about the health of Canadians, and it isn't by focusing on excessive and ineffective measures that will only make it easier for illegal traffickers to counterfeit legal products.
Rather, the health minister and Health Canada should acknowledge the importance of alternative products such as tobacco-heated or vaping substances, and prioritize the introduction of clear rules and making them known and available to adult consumers as soon as possible.
The minister must explain the policy discrepancies.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Federal health minister must explain tobacco and marijuana policy discrepancies
Author: Eric Gagnon
Contact: Contact us | canada.com
Photo Credit: Adrian Wyld
Website: canada.com | Canada's great, shareable stories
Public explanation is needed as both pot and tobacco are addictive substances with known, and, in some cases, similar health risks. This suggests that marijuana and tobacco should face a similar regulatory framework, but the minister appears to be headed in the opposite direction, giving far more leniency to the marijuana industry.
For example, with tobacco the minister is proposing plain and standardized packaging, despite cigarette packages having a 75-per-cent health warning and being hidden from public view at point of sale. However, with marijuana, the minister says all that is required is a restriction on packaging or labelling to ensure product packaging isn't appealing to young persons.
There is clear policy incoherence, which is even more apparent when you consider the minister claims her goal with both pot and tobacco legislation is to protect youth. How can two legislative frameworks, for products that both carry known health risks, have the same stated goal, yet vastly different approaches?
Moreover, the youth-usage rate for marijuana is higher than that for tobacco, and the health minister acknowledges that Canadian youth have the highest rate of pot use in the world.
The federal government has also gone to great lengths to claim its goal is to eliminate the black market for marijuana. The government has even suggested that taxes on pot will be kept low to allow competition with the illegal market. Conversely, governments across Canada have and continue to tax cigarettes to such an extent that it contributed to the creation of an illegal market that now accounts for 20 per cent of the tobacco market in the country.
More remarkably, the health minister launched a consultation on raising the smoking age to 21 while at the same time arguing the legal age for marijuana should be 18.
If the minister truly believes her policy approach to marijuana is effective, then surely it can be applied to tobacco. Instead, Parliament is about to have the spectacle of the minister arguing on one day that branding on tobacco packaging lures youth to smoking and should be banned, while on the next day suggesting branding should be allowed for marijuana.
And why is the tobacco-control community quiet in this debate? Vocal anti-tobacco advocates have been largely silent on the issue of marijuana legalization, despite studies that show smoking pot has similar health risks to smoking tobacco.
There is an opportunity for the health minister to demonstrate that she is serious about the health of Canadians, and it isn't by focusing on excessive and ineffective measures that will only make it easier for illegal traffickers to counterfeit legal products.
Rather, the health minister and Health Canada should acknowledge the importance of alternative products such as tobacco-heated or vaping substances, and prioritize the introduction of clear rules and making them known and available to adult consumers as soon as possible.
The minister must explain the policy discrepancies.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Federal health minister must explain tobacco and marijuana policy discrepancies
Author: Eric Gagnon
Contact: Contact us | canada.com
Photo Credit: Adrian Wyld
Website: canada.com | Canada's great, shareable stories
