Features

	Search NNSL

.

Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A campaign involving the Canadian Cancer Society is calling out tobacco companies using flavoured tobacco products to target youth. The society is bringing attention to certain tobacco products made to look like candy, lipstick and markers.

Prime Time cigarillos offer an array of flavours from cinnamon to peach. The Canadian Cancer Society says the flavoured cigarillos are packaged colourfully to appeal to a younger crowd. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

"Even though you can't sell to minors, tobacco companies are still aiming them towards minors," said Lauren Bulckaert, community service co-ordinator with the Canadian Cancer Society for Alberta and the NWT.

"They're making (the products) look really trendy," Bulckaert.

As part of National Non-Smoking Week, which takes place from Jan. 18 to 24, the Canadian Cancer Society will call for a ban on flavoured tobacco, specifically cigarillos.

Cigarillos are small cigars which look and feel like a cigarette but come in flavours such as strawberry or chocolate. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, cigarillos are packaged to appeal to youth and are becoming more and more popular with minors, despite the fact those younger than 19 are not legally allowed to buy them.

Duane Fleming, chief environmental health officer for the Stanton Territorial Health Authority, said they do some monitoring of tobacco products but leave the monitoring of sales to minors to the federal government unless they receive a complaint from someone.

"Under territorial legislation our environmental health officers do monitoring primarily with regards to display of cigarettes and signage," Fleming said. "The monitoring of sales to minors is up to the feds."

Fleming said they are always concerned about the sale of tobacco products to minors. Sting operations have been considered to keep tobacco retailers on their toes but Fleming said it's in the federal mandate and it's part of the agreement they have with them.

"We don't do sting operations like the feds still do," Fleming said. "It's a concern. It's part of the whole big picture but it's not something we're doing where we send youth in to try and purchase tobacco products."

Bulckaert said because they are rolled with tobacco leaves instead of paper they are exempt from regulations that require health warnings.

"There's no health warnings on these," said Bulckaert.

Cigarillos are still tobacco products and are legally required to be sold from behind the counter. These products are available in some Yellowknife convenience stores, said Bulckaert, and at about $2 each are easily affordable, even for teenagers.

Phan Qui, owner of Reddi-Mart on 50 Street said they have not seen youths come in and attempt to buy cigarillos.

"The curtain helps keep the products hidden," Qui said. "People who don't know what they want can't see what's available."

Qui said it is important to have preventive measures in place to keep youth from purchasing tobacco products.

The campaign poster put out by the Canadian Cancer Society to raise awareness compares cigarillos and flavoured tobacco product to ice cream. The headline reads "Same great flavour as ice cream ... Exactly the same risks as smoking regular cigarettes."

The poster also states 60 per cent of cigarillo smokers are teenagers.

"Anyone could think they're not smoking something as bad as cigarettes. That's not true - they're just as bad," said Bulckaert. "The risk of having lung cancer is getting higher and higher."

Bulckaert said the cancer society estimates approximately 24,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year. Of those, 85 per cent will die.