Canada's Tobacco Strategy

Each year, approximately 48,000 Canadians die from a tobacco-related disease. Canada's Tobacco Strategy (CTS) is the current federal strategy to address tobacco use in Canada and is designed to help achieve the target of less than 5% tobacco use by 2035.

About Canada's Tobacco Strategy

We have committed $330 million over five years starting in 2018 to:

• help Canadians who smoke to quit or reduce the harms of their addiction to nicotine and
• protect the health of young people and non-smokers from the dangers of tobacco use

The CTS notes that tobacco use is not spread equally across the population, and is often linked to other health and social inequities.

Canadians with higher rates of tobacco use include:

• LGBTQ+
• Indigenous peoples

The CTS also notes that giving people who smoke access to less harmful options than cigarettes will:

• help reduce their health risks
• possibly save lives

The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act was passed on May 23, 2018. It makes it legal for adults to buy vaping products that contain nicotine, as a less harmful option than smoking.

Themes of Canada's Tobacco Strategy

The main themes of Canada's Tobacco Strategy are to:

• help Canadians quit tobacco
• protect youth and non-tobacco users from nicotine addiction
• work with Indigenous groups to create specific plans for Indigenous people
• strengthen our science, surveillance and partnerships

Help Canadians quit tobacco

This will be achieved by:

• supporting improved services and resources to help people quit smoking
• funding programs to explore the most effective ways to help Canadians quit smoking by working with:
  • researchers
  • communities
  • public health groups
• giving information on and access to less harmful sources of nicotine

Protect youth and non-tobacco users from nicotine addiction

This will be achieved by:

• informing youth and young adults about the risks of using vaping and tobacco products
• enforcing compliance for retailers and producers of tobacco and vaping products
• creating a research program to understand and strengthen law enforcement to combat Canada's illicit tobacco market
• putting increased rules and guidelines in place, such as:
  • regulating vaping products
  • updating health warning messages
  • plain and standardized appearance measures

Work with Indigenous groups to create specific plans for Indigenous people

This will be achieved by:

• continuing and expanding existing tobacco projects in Indigenous communities 
• working with national and regional Indigenous groups to co-develop distinct strategies to meet the needs of Canada's Indigenous peoples

Strengthen our science, surveillance and partnerships

This will be achieved by:

• increasing funding to:
  • study new and unique ways to address tobacco use in Canada
  • understand the health impacts of new nicotine products and how Canadians use them
• aiding research from health stakeholders by publicly releasing:
  • industry reports
  • research findings
  • surveillance findings
• maintaining and supporting work done around the world as a part of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control