Health Canada and Small Guys Cigar Group meeting – December 18, 2023

Subject:

Compliance challenges related to cigars under the Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations.

Date:

December 18, 2023

Participants:

Health Canada (HC)

• Sonia Johnson (Chair), Director General, Tobacco Control Directorate (TCD), Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch (CSCB)
• Denis Choinière, Director, Tobacco Products Regulatory Office, TCD, CSCB
• Sally Gibbs, Acting Director, Consumer Products and Controlled Substances Directorate (CPCSD), Regional Operations and Enforcement Branch (ROEB)
• Alain Richard, Acting Associate Director, Tobacco, Vaping and Controlled Substances Division, CPCSD, ROEB
• Acting Manager, Operations, Office of Compliance of Tobacco and Vaping Products, TCD, CSCB
• Policy Analyst, International and Regulatory Policy Unit, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, TCD, CSCB (Secretariat)

Small Guys Cigar Group (SGCG)

• Daniel More, President, Bringham Enterprises
• Kyle Wilcox, General Manager, Brigham Enterprises
• Yelenny Castillo, President, Havana House
• Roger Lanteigne, Commercial Manager, Havana House
• Colm O'Shea, Vice-President, House of Horvath
• Ryan O'Shea, Inventory Coordinator, House of Horvath

Introduction:

A meeting was held at the request of SGCG to present their compliance challenges relating to new labelling requirements for cigar products under the Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations (TPAPLR).

The Chair opened the meeting with round table introductions.

The Tobacco Control Directorate reminded participants that this meeting is subject to disclosure as per HC's Openness and Transparency policies. In the interest of transparency, the Department stated that it would be making a record of the meeting publicly available. The handling of information and privacy notice was mentioned and acknowledged.

HC also referred to Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), its international obligation to protect tobacco control policies from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. It was acknowledged by SGCG representatives.

Subjects:

The SGCG presented technical challenges related to new labelling requirements under the TPAPLR, which came into force in August 2023, specifically the requirements for health warnings for cigar products.

The SGCG stated they are not able to comply with the requirements under the TPAPLR as they apply to cigar products within the implementation period provided in the TPAPLR.

In particular, Brigham Enterprises indicated that the process of bringing the packages into compliance would take nearly two years. They estimate that by July 2024, the majority of their products (approximately 80%) would be in compliance, and the rest by July 2025 (approximately 20%).

House of Horvath faces similar challenges and also stated they would need more time in order to comply with the regulations.

Further, Havana House reiterated the challenges of meeting the implementation deadline of January 31, 2024, and expressed that the transition period for retail also imposes challenges as they believe this would create more wasted product (i.e. packages that have already been created and will not be sold before the implementation date).

The Chair thanked SGCG for their comments and confirmed that HC will respond to SGCG later in the week.

Conclusion:

The meeting was then concluded.

Documents:

• Agenda as provided by SGCG