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• Anti-Tobacco Industry Using Kids To Promote Their Private Agendas and Further Misrepresent the Facts 

Casa Cubana is outraged at the latest tactics used by government-funded anti-tobacco groups. In their world of "the end justifies the means", anti-tobacco groups in Canada have felt it increasingly necessary to use kids in their attempt to manipulate public perception, create public outrage and force governments to over-regulate tobacco products. Over-regulation of tobacco products in Canada, has we have witnessed several times over the last decade - often leads to much greater problems for our country and effectively undermines the very health objectives governments purport to promote and defend. "These extremist groups are now tricking "kids" into promoting their self-serving agendas against tobacco" - says Luc Martial (in charge of government affairs with Casa Cubana, and formerly with the Non-Smokers' Rights Association, the Canadian Council on Smoking and Health, the National Clearinghouse on Tobacco and Health, and the federal government (Health Canada). "While perhaps well-intended, these kids and their youth-oriented anti-tobacco groups are unfortunately simply regurgitating misrepresentations actively promoted by anti-tobacco extremist groups. These kids, unfortunately, have not learned to question the information being force-fed to them by people and organizations that on the face of it...seem trustworthy. And that's the problem." These youth organizations recently called upon Québec's Minister of Health to ban the use of flavours in tobacco products - citing the use of flavored cigarillos as an emerging problem among youth. If youth organizations like "La gang allumée" were actually "allumée" - then they would realize that the issues they are raising are simply misguided. It is well known that high school kids have always been (and will likely always be) unfortunately experimenting with drugs, alcohol and yes, even tobacco. Government research, however, now clearly suggests that high school kids are by far greater consumers of alcohol, gambling products and marijuana . . .

The fact is that alcohol and marijuana use are now much greater problems among youth than tobacco. It's important to note that the market for specialty tobacco products in Canada (which include premium cigars, little cigars, cigarillos and cheroots) - continues to represent less than 1% of all tobacco products sold and consumed in our country. More to this point, the very same flavours in cigarillos that youth groups are now requesting that government ban - are similarly and in much greater varieties found in alcohol products distributed in government-run liquor stores . . .

Casa Cubana is a Montreal-based importer of quality cigar products.

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