History of tobacco control

The Canadian Cancer Society has been at the forefront of tobacco control advocacy for decades by advocating for important health policy changes. As a result of extensive advocacy to government, CCS has been successful at influencing numerous tobacco-related issues, including bans on indoor smoking in public places, restricting cigarette advertising and restricting flavoured tobacco.

The list below highlights some of the biggest tobacco control changes in Canada since 2000.

While significant progress to reduce tobacco use has been made, lots of work remains to be done. CCS will continue to advocate for stronger regulations and programs to help reduce smoking rates and reduce the rates of lung cancer in Canada.

2000	Canada becomes first country to require picture warnings on tobacco packages, setting a world-wide precedent, with regulations adopted in 2000 and in effect in 2001. There are now more than 115 countries/jurisdictions that have followed the Canadian model The Canadian Cancer Society establishes Smokers' Helpline in Ontario, providing smokers a toll-free service for assistance on how to quit, a service that would later be extended to several other provinces/territories Manitoba and Northwest Territories increase tobacco taxes
2001	Saskatchewan becomes first province to adopt legislation, with effect in 2002, prohibiting visible display of tobacco products at retail, and the second jurisdiction in the world to do so. All other provinces/territories would later also ban visible tobacco displays at retail Canada, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Yukon increase tobacco taxes British Columbia becomes first province to file medicare cost recovery lawsuit, and to be followed in subsequent years by all 9 other provinces
2002	Canada and all 13 provinces/territories increase tobacco taxes
2003	British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Northwest Territories increase tobacco taxes Federal Tobacco Act bans tobacco sponsorship at sport and arts events
2004	Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories and Nunavut become first provinces/territories to adopt legislation making all restaurants and bars 100% smoke-free – all provinces and territories have now done so Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador increase tobacco taxes
2005	Newfoundland becomes the first province/state in the world to ban smoking on restaurant and bar patios Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador increase tobacco taxes
2006	Nova Scotia bans smoking on restaurant and bar patios Ontario and Quebec ban smoking in all restaurants and bars Saskatchewan, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut increase tobacco tax
2007	Nova Scotia and Alberta increase tobacco tax Supreme Court of Canada unanimously upholds national advertising restrictions, sponsorship ban, and picture-based health warnings as constitutional
2008	Nova Scotia becomes first province to ban smoking in vehicles with kids Alberta bans smoking on restaurant and bar patios Yukon bans smoking in vehicles with kids Prince Edward Island and Yukon increase tobacco tax
2009	Canada extends advertising restrictions to include a ban on tobacco advertising in magazines, newspapers and other publications British Columbia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island ban smoking in vehicles with kids British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories increase tobacco tax

2010	Canada becomes first country to ban all flavours (except menthol) in cigarettes and cigarillos Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan ban smoking in vehicles with kids Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and Northwest Territories increase tobacco tax
2011	Newfoundland and Labrador bans smoking in vehicles with kids Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Northwest Territories increase tobacco taxes
2012	Canada increases required graphic warnings on cigarette packaging to cover 75% of the package front and back and adds a toll-free quitline number as part of the health warning Manitoba, Quebec and Nunavut increase tobacco taxes
2013	Canada, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador increase taxes on tobacco products
2014	Alberta bans smoking in vehicles with kids Canada, British Columbia, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and Northwest Territories increase tobacco taxes Vancouver restricts the use of e-cigarettes in public places
2015	Canada commits to the implementation of plain packaging for tobacco products Nova Scotia becomes the first jurisdiction in the world to ban flavoured tobacco, including menthol Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island increase taxes on tobacco products British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island adopt e-cigarette legislation banning use where smoking is banned, banning sales to minors, banning displays/advertising at retail, and banning sales where tobacco sales are banned (for Ontario, sales to minors in effect 2016, most other provisions in effect in 2018, ban on retail displays/ads in effect in 2020 ) New Brunswick bans smoking on restaurants and bar patios, children’s playgrounds, sports fields, provincial parks and beaches Ontario bans smoking on patios, playgrounds and sports fields
2016	Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador increase tobacco taxes Quebec bans smoking in vehicles with children, on restaurant and bar patios, sport fields and children’s playgrounds Quebec bans flavoured tobacco, including menthol Lloydminster, Saskatchewan requires businesses to hold a license to sell tobacco or e-cigarettes, using the annual fee to support non-profit groups in their efforts to reduce tobacco use
2017	Canada bans menthol cigarettes and little cigars across the country Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut increase tobacco taxes Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador ban flavoured tobacco, including menthol Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador e-cigarette legislation come into effect
2018	Canada strengthens the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy with an additional ongoing investment of $18 million per year and increases taxes on tobacco products Federal government establishes objective of under 5% tobacco use by 2035 Nova Scotia bans smoking on sports fields, children’s playgrounds, provincial parks, beaches Nunavut bans smoking on sports fields, children’s playgrounds and patios British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Yukon and the federal government increase tobacco taxes Saskatchewan bans smoking in all social housing units Canada extends menthol ban to all tobacco products across the country
2019	Canada implements the world’s best tobacco plain packaging regulations. The regulations also ban slims and superslims cigarettes and packaging, which are marketed in a way that specifically appeals to young women and girls British Columbia announces comprehensive strategy to reduce youth vaping Alberta increases tobacco taxes

2020

Prince Edward Island becomes the first province to establish the minimum sales age for tobacco and e-cigarettes at age 21
British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island increase tobacco taxes
Yukon and Northwest Territories ban flavoured tobacco
Federal and British Columbia regulations ban e-cigarette advertising anywhere where youth are exposed
British Columbia and Nova Scotia implement a maximum nicotine concentration level of 20 mg/ml for e-cigarettes
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island ban flavours (except tobacco flavour) in e-cigarettes
Prince Edward Island requires e-cigarettes to only be sold in specialty stores. British Columbia requires flavoured e-cigarettes to be sold in adult only premises. Ontario requires higher nicotine e-cigarettes and most flavoured e-cigarettes to be sold only in specialty stores
E-cigarette legislation implemented in Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories, and adopted in Alberta
British Columbia and Nova Scotia implement an e-cigarette tax
British Columbia regulations restrict e-cigarettes to be packaged in a plain manner