New smoking rules
Northern price remains unaffected

by P.J. Harston
Northern News Services

NNSL (DEC 02/96) - The federal government announced a package of tobacco-control measures Thursday that appears to mean little North of 60.

The measures include an immediate increase in taxes in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, but taxes will remain well below the levels prior to a tax rollback in those four provinces in 1994.

There won't be a complete ban on tobacco company advertising or sponsoring of sporting and cultural events, although both were considered by the government.

Health Minister David Dingwall said the measures are as strong as possible given the Supreme Court of Canada judgment last year upholding the tobacco companies' right to advertise.

Health activists said they would support the legislation even though it doesn't go as far as they would like.

Earlier, Finance Minister Paul Martin announced tobacco taxes would rise by $1.40 a carton in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia at midnight Thursday.

A federal tax hike of 70 cents a carton is being matched by the four provinces. The government is not raising taxes in the other provinces because they didn't cut their taxes in 1994 to combat smuggling.

Territorial deputy finance minister Eric Nielsen said the information he's received from the federal government doesn't seem to change the price of territorial cigarettes at all.

He said the last major change in territorial tobacco taxation occurred in 1994, when taxes were hiked to fill the gap left by the federal tax cut.

"In effect, the price of cigarettes never changed," said Nielsen.

The federal package would also require photo-identification to ensure cigarettes are not sold to minors; strengthen penalties for people who violate the law, including fines and prison sentences; and increase health information on cigarette packages by adding details on the toxic substances in tobacco products.

The legislation will be introduced next week in the Commons.

(With files from CP)