http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/canada.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/88481937.html http://tobacco.org/news/298850.html Tobacco remains readily available in a Maple Ridge prison despite a ban that’s been in place at the facility for nine years. A former inmate, who left Fraser Regional Correction Centre two weeks ago, calls the prohibition a “complete failure.” “Fraser Regional is awash in tobacco,” said David Malmo-Levine, who spent four months inside the men’s prison for trafficking marijuana. Despite pat-downs and random searches, inmates smoke in their cells or washrooms and use tobacco as currency, with “tailor-made” cigarettes costing between $5 and $10 per smoke. Although he didn’t smoke, Malmo-Levine said he traded smuggled-in tobacco for stuff from the canteen. BC Local News mmartins@mapleridgenews.com (Monisha Martins - Maple Ridge News) Canada Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/free tobacco health concern/2695595/story.html http://tobacco.org/news/298812.html The proliferation of tax-free tobacco products on reserves will be addressed in next week's provincial budget, Premier Brad Wall said in a speech Wednesday. In his "state of the province" address to the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce at TCU Place, Wall said the province needs to take some steps to reduce tobacco use and cited a report saying one of the biggest obstacles to that has been the lack of taxation on tobacco products sold on First Nations. "Smoking remains one of the most harmful and costly health issues. The financial cost is great; the human cost is greater," said Wall. "And the problem continues to be greatest among our First Nations people." Wall referred to Statistics Canada surveys from 2007-08 that showed the rate of smoking to be twice as high among the aboriginal population (45.3 per cent) in Saskatchewan compared to the non-aboriginal population (23.3 per cent). . . . "Together in partnership with First Nations, maybe the objective should be we don't have tax-free tobacco," he said. "That would have to be a decision First Nations are a part of, because it's a treaty right." Saskatoon Star Phoenix hscissons@sp.canwest.com (Hannah Scissons, The StarPhoenix) Canada Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/free+tobacco+health+concern/2695595/story.html http://tobacco.org/news/298766.html The proliferation of tax-free tobacco products on reserves will be addressed in next week's provincial budget, Premier Brad Wall said in a speech Wednesday. In his "state of the province" address to the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce at TCU Place, Wall said the province needs to take some steps to reduce tobacco use and cited a report saying one of the biggest obstacles to that has been the lack of taxation on tobacco products sold on First Nations. "Smoking remains one of the most harmful and costly health issues. The financial cost is great; the human cost is greater," said Wall. "And the problem continues to be greatest among our First Nations people." Saskatoon Star Phoenix hscissons@sp.canwest.com (Hannah Scissons, The StarPhoenix) Canada Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2010/18/c2798.html http://tobacco.org/news/298731.html The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco is calling on the federal government to follow-through on the Prime Minister's remarks Monday about organized crime profiting from the trade in contraband tobacco by taking serious action to halt the trade. In his YouTube interview, Prime Minister Harper was asked about legalizing drugs. In his response, he remarked about the damage caused by the crime and terrorist rings behind the trade. He then turned to the subject of contraband tobacco and added: "You know, and I just wish people would understand that, and not just on drugs. Even when people buy, you know, an illegal carton of cigarettes and they avoid tax, that they really understand the kind of criminal networks that they are supporting, and the damage they do." "The Prime Minister seems to be well aware of how the trade in contraband tobacco is being orchestrated by organized crime groups," said Gary Grant, spokesperson for the Canada-wide National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco (NCACT). "The obvious question is what are they going to do about it? They know the roots of the problem; They know it's robbing government of tobacco tax revenue; and, they know our kids are getting easy access to tobacco. It's heartening to see the Prime Minister is aware of the problem, and we're eager to work with the government to implement long-term solutions as soon as possible." Canada Newswire perenack@primestrat.com (NATIONAL COALITION AGAINST CONTRABAND TOBACCO ) Canada Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/84771/Cigarette-may-have-started-daycare-fire- http://tobacco.org/news/298703.html Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue officials say a cigarette may be to blame for a Wednesday afternoon fire at a daycare. Crews responded to reports of smoke coming from a building on Grenville Avenue at around 5:30 p.m. . . . Firefighters believe a cigarette butt fell from the second floor and landed inside a wall, where it continued to burn. Officials believe the cigarette could have been burning inside the wall for hours. TBNewsWatch   Canada Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theprovince.com/health/women file lawsuit over Pfizer quit smoking drug/2672831/story.html http://tobacco.org/news/298660.html Three B.C. women are suing pharmaceutical giant Pfizer over a lucrative drug that is designed to help people quit smoking but which, the plaintiffs claim, causes suicidal tendencies as an unintended byproduct. In a writ filed last month in B.C. Supreme Court, the plaintiffs claim Pfizer Inc. and its Canadian subsidiary put profits from Champix ahead of public safety, ignoring research that showed the drug was dangerous to some people and dragging its feet in warning B.C. doctors who prescribe it. Vancouver lawyer David Klein is seeking to have the lawsuit certified as a class action. "It's a scary drug," Klein said Thursday. Vancouver Province you@canada.com (Andy Ivens, Vancouver Province) Canada Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://news.therecord.com/article/685343 http://tobacco.org/news/298634.html Janet Lowrey hopes a new Waterloo regional policy banning smoking in multi-unit dwellings will help her quit the habit. Isabel Adams has a heart condition and welcomes a move that should reduce the smell of smoke seeping into her apartment from adjoining units. But Gary Smith, a smoker for 54 years, is opposed to the ban which takes effect April 1. “What I do in my apartment is nobody’s business,” he said. All three are tenants at 74 Church St., a 48-unit seniors’ apartment building in downtown Kitchener, owned by the region. This smoke-free policy will only apply to new tenants who move in on or after April 1. It does not apply to existing tenants unless they move to a new unit. The region owns and manages 2,723 housing units. Kitchener-Waterloo Record fbarrick@therecord.com (Frances Barrick, Record staff) Canada Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/green/article/778046--trash-talk-butting-out-a-litter-problem http://tobacco.org/news/298614.html If there's one thing that bugs Bruce Winnacott, it's cigarette butts lying around on the ground. In fact, they have distressed the retired printer so much for so long, that he has sunk all of his assets into his invention – a small reusable paper and foil pouch, laminated with fire retardant adhesive, that will put out a burning cigarette butt in five seconds once it's dropped in. He calls this personal extinguishing ashtray the Kippi or KippiPak (www.kippipaks.com) and has patent protection in more than 140 countries. The price is 10 to 15 cents each, depending on order size. . . . Imperial Tobacco Canada's Catherine Doyle, corporate communications manager, and JTI-Macdonald Corp.'s Bryan Jones, vice-president corporate affairs and communications, Americas region, both say tobacco companies would like to take part in anti-litter campaigns but are hampered by federal and provincial legislation, which restricts tobacco product advertising. Toronto Star e_moorhouse@sympatico.ca (Ellen Moorhouse SPECIAL TO THE STAR ) Canada Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2492756 http://tobacco.org/news/298575.html Hundreds of inmates at Canada's biggest prison, calling themselves "scum of the earth," have failed in a strange bid to join a court battle over smoking. The federal court of appeal will hear an appeal this morning by the Correctional Service of Canada. It is seeking to overturn another court decision of last October that tossed out the prison service's smoking ban. Corrections Canada banned smoking by convicts inside buildings and on the property of the country's 58 penitentiaries in May 2008. The nearly 600 convicts at Warkworth Institution, a medium-security prison 100 kilometres west of Kingston near Campbellford, wanted to join the court fight. They filed more than 130 pages of unusual material with the court, invoking the Bible and the Magna Carta, and citing doc-u m e nt s they obtained from Buckingham Palace. . . . The appeal is scheduled for 9:30 this morning. It involves Corrections Canada and 19 inmates imprisoned in Quebec who won the smoking ban reversal last year. The group includes notorious mobsters, gang members and killers. They complained that the total ban led to anxiety, weight gain and ill-health. The decision overturning the ban was suspended until the appeal was heard. Kingston Whig-Standard rtripp@thewhig.com (Posted By ROB TRIPP, THE WHIG-STANDARD) Canada Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Three women file class action lawsuit over Pfizer quit smoking drug/2686782/story.html http://tobacco.org/news/298558.html Three B.C. women have started a class-action lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. and its Canadian subsidiary, claiming that the smoking-cessation drug Champix causes depression and suicidal tendencies. One of the women, Patricia Clow, from Victoria, is the mother of Heidi Clow, 22, who committed suicide on Oct. 4, 2009, while taking Champix, according to the writ of summons filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Feb. 10, 2010. The second plaintiff is Alicia Pickering, of Sechelt, who alleges in the writ that she became depressed and catatonic after taking Champix Vancouver Sun tsherlock@vancouversun.com (TRACY SHERLOCK, Vancouver Sun) Canada Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.windsorstar.com/Windsor+face+tobacco+charges/2671405/story.html http://tobacco.org/news/298457.html Three Windsor men have been arrested and charged under the Excise Act for Possession of Unstamped Tobacco. The suspects were stopped by OPP officers in the westbound lanes of Highway 401 in Lakeshore about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Police say they discovered more than 22 cases of illegal tobacco, a quantity of Canadian currency and a 1999 Ford Windstar minivan, which was turned over to the Windsor RCMP. Windsor Star Canada Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/03/11/champix-suit-bc.html?ref=rss http://tobacco.org/news/298323.html Three British Columbia residents are suing Pfizer, alleging the drug company's quit-smoking product Champix can cause serious psychiatric reactions. Plaintiff Alicia Pickering, 34, said she was a normal, healthy woman until she started taking Champix to kick her smoking habit. Within days of starting the drug, the married mother of two experienced a dramatic change in personality and was consumed with thoughts of dying, she said. "It literally felt like something had broken in my head," Pickering, of Sechelt, B.C., northwest of Vancouver, told CBC News. "Intense, severe depression overtook me. I would sit on the couch sobbing, not knowing why." In a writ filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Pickering and two other B.C. residents claim Pfizer "negligently designed, tested, labelled, manufactured and marketed the drug to Canadians." According to the document, Pickering developed bipolar disorder after taking Champix. The writ also claims the U.S. drug maker failed to warn customers of the adverse side-effects of the medication. CBC News Canada Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://cannabisculture.com/v2/node/22463 http://tobacco.org/news/297917.html This article was written in Fraser but I chose to wait to publish it until after I was released - those who run the jail may not have taken my constructive criticism with a completely open mind. . . . The object of tobacco prohibition, one must assume, is to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke and to force smokers to stop smoking. One might also surmise there is a desire on the part of those running the institution to deny inmates a product that has traditionally served as a form of currency ... and to drive home the point that human autonomy - at least in prison - is non-existent. The policy must be seen as a complete failure on every level. Fraser Regional is awash in tobacco. Every inmate returning from work is frisked, every incoming package is searched and frisk teams do random and target searches all the time - but you can smell the tobacco burning in the washrooms of minimum security - and individual rooms in maximum security - every day. I don't know exactly how it keeps coming in ... Almost every week or so another guy gets sent from minimum to maximum because he got caught smoking. But even though there are video cameras almost everywhere and next to no privacy, and even though the punishment for getting caught is being sent to maximum security to be locked in your cell for most of the day - a punishment that is enough to scare violent people into acting non-violently, these things hardly put a dent into the numbers of smokers or the amount of smoking. . . . maybe, just maybe, the real reason for the policy of drug prohibition is not to prohibit drugs but rather to give some people who have the power to smuggle drugs into a place of prohibition without being searched a certain amount of money and power while providing guards or police with an excuse to go to greater and greater lengths to deny all individuals privacy and autonomy. If that was the real reason ... then tobacco prohibition and drug prohibition are both smashing successes - and could account for the continuation of a policy which, on the surface, appears as a dismal failure. Cannabis Culture Magazine Canada Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/03/02/nl-smokers-stjohns-302.html http://tobacco.org/news/297872.html Newfoundland and Labrador's largest health authority, Eastern Health, is fuming about how often its anti-smoking policy is being broken. At the Health Science Centre in St. John's, smoking is prohibited everywhere on the property, but people are still lighting up a few feet from the front door. "It's not fair. The way I figure it, if you … [want] to smoke, you should be able to," Ann-Marie Squires told CBC News, as she smoked less than 20 metres from the hospital's emergency entrance Tuesday. Behind her, standing right next to the entrance and a big no-smoking sign, another man was also smoking. CBC News Canada Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2010/03/02/13085796.html http://tobacco.org/news/297868.html Alberta's tobacco consumption is expected to decrease for the third year in a row. But the head of an anti-smoking agency is calling for further tax increases and stricter legislation to continue the trend until smoking is obsolete. Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said quarterly projections indicate tobacco consumption will be down for fiscal 2010, establishing a three-year trend of the decline in Alberta. . . . However, Statistics Canada reports that between February of 2009 and January of 2010, Canadian tobacco production was up month-over-month 10 times in the 12-month period. Hagen said further tax increases are necessary to help combat the approximately 3,000 deaths linked with smoking in Alberta each year. "To this day, Alberta still has some of the most inexpensive tobacco in the country," he said, adding there needs to be more restrictions on marketing and hopefully the initiation of plain packaging. Calgary Sun jenna.mcmurray@sunmedia.ca (JENNA McMURRAY, Calgary Sun) Canada Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT