Jump to full article: Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal, 2009-09-16
Author: James R. Carroll The Courier-Journal
Intro: TORONTO -- At first glance, it looks like cigarettes have disappeared from Canadian stores.
There are no advertisements or signs for cigarettes in retail outlets in most of the nation's provinces. And the behind-the-counter racks of various cigarette brands, so familiar in the United States, are nowhere to be seen.
While cigarettes are still sold, they have largely disappeared from view -- an effort by the nation's provincial governments to discourage smoking among young people and help adults quit.
"The principle is indeed out of sight, out of mind," said Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society.
Canada's move to hide cigarettes at their point of sale is being watched closely by U.S. anti-tobacco advocates as a potential weapon in the just-starting federal regulation of tobacco products.
"In convenience stores in the United States, we are bombarded with tobacco branding images," said Paul Billings, vice president for national policy and advocacy at the American Lung Association in Washington. "These measures to reduce the attractiveness and reduce the availability of tobacco products do have a positive impact on reducing tobacco use."
The new anti-smoking law passed by the U.S. Congress this year gives the federal Food and Drug Administration the authority to minimize tobacco-marketing tools that may affect consumption of the product, particularly by youths . . .
Health Canada's annual Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey shows that the nation's smoking rate for the most at-risk group, those 15 to 24 years old, has dropped from 29 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2008.
Perley said it is difficult to pinpoint the impact of any one anti-smoking measure, but studies will be done on the effectiveness of the retail display bans.
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