Nova Scotia is days away from becoming the first jurisdiction in the world to implement a ban on flavoured tobacco products, in a move that has garnered a legal challenge from Big Tobacco.
When stores open Sunday morning, they will be prohibited from selling flavoured tobacco products including menthol cigarettes.
On Friday, the Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society held a press conference to celebrate the move.
“The magnitude of this legislation cannot be overstated,” said Barbara Stead-Coyle, the organization’s CEO.
She said the province asserting itself as a leader in anti-tobacco legislation is nothing new.
“Nova Scotia was the first province to ban the sale of tobacco in vending machines, and the first to require non-smoking in cars with children,” she said.
Taking menthol cigarettes off store shelves has been touted as an especially important move for protecting the health of youths in the province.
“About a third of young people say they use menthol, so despite what the tobacco industry says … it plays a significant role in youth initiating smoking,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief public health officer.
Just a day prior, the tobacco industry spoke up to dispute that.
In a release Thursday evening, Imperial Tobacco Canada said it had filed a legal challenge against the province’s ban, citing among its claims that menthol is preferred by an older market segment, not a younger one.
“Two times, actually, the federal government excluded menthol from the flavour ban because there was a clear lack of evidence that menthol was attractive to youth,” company spokesperson Nadine Bernard told CTV News.
The company is arguing that a ban on these products will encourage adult smokers to turn to the illegal market.
On Friday, the provincial government’s response was clear.
“As a government, as a province, we will in no way back down, capitulate to Big Tobacco,” said Health Minister Leo Glavine.
Confident in the legal assessment done before the legislation was put forward, the province is prepared to counter the legal challenge in whatever way required.
“We're very confident as we've been successful in the past. We have a strong legislation that will withstand any legal challenges,” Dr. Strang said.
Meanwhile, convenience store owners have just two days left to prepare for the ban and industry representatives say a lot of questions remain.
Mike Hammoud, president of the Atlantic Convenience Stores Association, says business owners in his industry need more time.
There’s a lot of confusion about the ban, he said, including questions about what to do with leftover product.
“We've got retailers and manufacturers and wholesalers that are still a little confused on what products need to be taken off the shelf,” Hammoud said.
Convenience stores in Nova Scotia may soon not be the only ones having to take product off the shelves.
On Friday, the New Brunswick provincial government announced a similar ban that would take effect in January.
Ontario and Quebec are also following close behind, with flavoured tobacco bills at different stages of being passed.
Glavine says this gives Nova Scotia cause for optimism in the face of Imperial’s legal challenge — the fight, he says, likely won’t be Nova Scotia’s to fight alone.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jacqueline Foster
