MLAs lobbied by industry, health groups as P.E.I. considers 'groundbreaking' tobacco ban

The Canadian Cancer Society is urging Prince Edward Island's 27 MLAs to "stand firm against Big Tobacco," as lobbying efforts ramp up for and against a proposed generational tobacco ban in the province.

The idea for the ban was floated in a consultation paper for a new wellness strategy for the province on May 14.

The ban would be the first of its kind in Canada if it goes ahead, and would prevent people born after a certain date from legally purchasing tobacco products.

As an example, the province said anyone born after Jan. 1, 2009, could be restricted from purchasing tobacco. That means the ban would start to kick in by2030, when those people begin turning 21, the current minimum age to buy tobacco in P.E.I.

Two days after the idea for the ban was put forward, the lobbying had already begun.

Prohibition'not the answer,' says industry

"While Imperial supports the goal of reducing Canada's smoking rate prohibition is not the answer," a spokesperson for Imperial Tobacco, Sabrina Chartrand, wrote to at least some Island MLAs in an email dated May 16.

Chartrand's email provides a number of reasons why her company thinks the ban is a bad idea: that it would spurcontraband cigarette sales; that it would risk "making cigarettes more appealing, not less;" and that it could even hurt P.E.I.'s tourism industry when potential visitors find they can't buy smokes while on vacation.

CBCNews reached out to Chartrand and to multiple lobbyists registered on P.E.I. who listed Imperial Tobacco and Rothmans Benson & Hedges Inc. as clients. None would provide an interview.

In a statement, Imperial Tobacco told CBC it engaged with MLAsto make sure they "understood the unintended implications of a generational ban and tobacco sales restrictions."

In its own email to MLAs on July 18, the Canadian Cancer Society urged politiciansto "stand firm against Big Tobacco."

"Make no mistake, these companies are not trying to protect Islanders or Island children's health and wellbeing," the letter states."They are trying to use fear to protect themselves and their bottom lines."

No record of lobbyist interactions

While lobbyists are required to be registered in P.E.I., their interactions with MLAs and government are not tracked.

Members of the legislature are also not included under the province's freedom of information act, so it's difficult to track how much effort is being put forward by either side in the debate over P.E.I.'s proposed ban.

When asked about feedback and reaction from interest groups including the tobacco industry, a representative from the P.E.I. Department of Health and Wellness noted that public consultations on its wellness plan had recently concluded.

The representativesaid the province's Chief Public Health Office is "starting to review the feedback they received. Our intent is [to] release a report later in the fall on what we heard from the public and stakeholder groups through this process."

The province wouldn't share which stakeholder groups were consulted, but said it "was a public consultation open to receiving submissions from all Island residents and stakeholder organizations."

Since P.E.I. made its announcement proposing a generational tobacco ban, Newfoundland and Labrador has said it's considering the same idea.

Meanwhile, the new Labour government in the U.K. has signalled it plans to move ahead with a similar proposal. A bill to achieve that died on the order paper when former Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak called a surprise election in May.

They dont want the dominoes to fall: Why the tobacco lobby is targeting P.E.I.

2 months ago

Duration 2:55

The Canadian Cancer Society is urging P.E.I. to stand firm against Big Tobacco, as lobbying efforts ramp up for and against a proposed generational smoking ban in the province. CBC News spoke with the societys Rob Cunningham about the lobbying efforts, and what his group plans to do about it.

"P.E.I. is proposing groundbreaking measures," said Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the cancer society.

"The tobacco industry is going to lobby very hard against this they don't want it to happen in P.E.I. They don't want the dominoes to fall, for it to happen in other places."

MLAs met with both sides

The Cancer Society is doing its own lobbying. During two days in June, the group met separately with Liberal and Green MLAs, and with the governing PC's Minister of Health Mark McLane and Finance Minister Jill Burridge.

At the same time, Imperial Tobacco had a representative in P.E.I. who met with Burridge, Education Minister Natalie Jameson and three backbench MLAs.

The company had offered to meet with the Greens and Liberals while in the province, but both parties turned the company down.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation sent its own open letter to Island MLAs on July 25, again advising them to be wary "of the methods the tobacco industry uses to undermine tobacco control measures in order to protect their profit margins."

In its letter, the foundation said creating a tobacco-free generation represents "a balanced and graduated approach to phase out commercial tobacco use from the population without entrapping current smokers."

Restrictions on where cigarettes are sold

P.E.I. has also proposed restricting tobacco sales to allow them only in specialty shops, similar to a change made in 2020 forvaping products in the province.

Such a restriction would also be the first of its kind in Canada, according to the cancer society.

In a news release issued July 15, Imperial Tobacco said that move would be "economically destructive" to convenience stores and other retailers that currently sell cigarettes.

But P.E.I. has already stated that the change would only impact new retailers, not existing ones.

In itsrelease, Imperial Tobacco also claimed that restrictions on vape sales haven't worked to curb use of the product amongminors because P.E.I.'s rate of vaping among youth is higher than the national average.

But the rate of vaping among P.E.I. youth actuallydeclined from 26.7 per cent to 20 per cent between 2019 and 2021-22, according to data collected by Statistics Canada.

Provincial health officials credited the drop to changes in regulations, including a ban on the sale of flavoured vaping productsand increasing the age to purchase them to 21.

'The sky's not going to fall'

"Big tobacco has a history of using misinformation and proclaiming that the sky is going to fall," Cunningham said. "We heard that when smoking was going to be banned in restaurants and bars, when you banned the visible display of cigarettes in retail stores, when you banned menthol cigarettes or have plain packaging.

"The sky's not going to fall. These are important measures to prevent a leading, preventable cause of disease and death. P.E.I. is to be commended for moving forward with these measures."

Prince Edward Island also has registered lobbyists representing the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco and the Convenience Industry Council of Canada.

In a statement, the Convenience Industry Council of Canada said it "has reservations about the enforcement and impact of a generational tobacco ban and new restrictions on retail licenses. Any further restrictions to the legal tobacco market [would be] an exercise in futility unless steps to curb the illicit market are taken as well."