When you go into your local convenience or grocery store after May 31, 2008, you might notice a difference: no more "in-your-face" displays of tobacco products, a press release from the Sudbury District Health Unit stated.
Tobacco use is one of the toughest addictions to break and is the number one cause of preventable death in Ontario, responsible for 36 deaths every day. It costs Ontario an estimated $1.6 billion in direct health care costs and $4.4 billion in productivity losses each year.
Everything we do to lessen its impact is something worth doing, the release stated.
As of May 31, 2008, the Smoke-Free Ontario Act prohibits any display of tobacco products - including cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco, and other specialty tobacco products, including chewing tobacco, Snus, and snuff, and most notably what are currently known as tobacco "powerwalls."
"Tobacco manufacturers will no longer be able to use these powerwalls as a way to market to young people and influence smokers to buy on impulse," said Dr. Vera Etches, Sudbury & District Health Unit acting medical officer of health. "Banning the display of tobacco products is an important and necessary step in tackling the leading cause of preventable death: tobacco use."
A powerwall is a wall of cigarette packages that is typically behind the counter wherever those products are sold. Not only do these displays cause impulse buying among smokers - especially smokers who are trying to quit - they also lead young people to think that cigarettes are as normal as the candy and milk they buy from the same stores. Research indicates that these walls can make it easier for young people to try smoking and makes it more difficult for smokers to quit.
But, as the saying goes, after May 31: Out of sight, out of mind, the release stated.
The Province of Ontario announced the introduction of the display ban with the passage of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act in June 2005. At that time, the government outlined a two-stage process: the first stage imposed restrictions on the display and promotion of tobacco products, effective May 31, 2006; the second stage provided for a two-year period before the complete ban came into effect on May 31, 2008.
