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Thank Saskatchewan
Minister of Health (Canada)
March 15, 2002
Saskatchewan Minister of Health Please bcc to: <lgreaves@reginahealth.sk.ca>, <tobacco@essential.org> It is important to protect "best-practices" like this one, because they "blaze the trail" for other tobacco control programs around the world to follow! The Act can be found at:
The Tobacco Control Act from the province of Saskatchewan, Canada The Tobacco Control Act was unanimously passed by the Saskatchewan Legislature and given Royal Assent on July 3, 2001. The Act was to be proclaimed in January, 2002 during National Non Smoking Week. Proclamation was delayed partly due to the strong lobbying of the tobacco industry. The industry has a provincial lobbyist, a lawyer, and at least one front group, the Saskatchewan Committee for Responsible Tobacco Retailing (SCRTR), which admitted to government officials it was a Committee of the Canadian Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing, a tobacco industry Coalition . The Act was proclaimed on March 11, 2002. It was enthusiastically received by health groups in Saskatchewan. The section reads: Section 6(3) - No retailer shall permit tobacco or tobacco-related products to be displayed in the retailer’s premises so that the tobacco or tobacco-related products are visible to the public if young persons are permitted access to those premises. This section is precedent-setting and will ban the large displays of tobacco products or "power walls" found in stores. The banning of these displays effectively eliminates one of the remaining methods the tobacco industry has to promote its products to youth. Recently, there has been opposition in the media to the section banning tobacco product displays. The greatest opposition has come from the Canadian tobacco industry which has sent representatives to the province to fight the legislation in the media. The Saskatchewan Committee for Responsible Tobacco Retailing also fought the banning of displays in a $10,000 fax campaign to retailers. How the tobacco industry promotes tobacco in local stores - The tobacco
industry in Canada pays retailers a total of $60 million per year in order
to have its power walls of tobacco products. Tobacco companies pay for
displays in order to make cigarettes appear to be more popular than they
are. The industry installs large “power walls” of cigarette
packages, in vast quantities far more than is necessary to supply consumers.
These displays are visible to the entire population including children
and ex-smokers sending a message that tobacco is as socially acceptable
as candy or newspapers. They are inconsistent with the industry’s
claim that it does not promote to children. Essential
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