Canada - Up in Smoke

28. 4. 2010
Autor: David Broder
Tagy: canada, cigarettes |
Komentářů: 0

Welcome to Canada – land of polar bears, universal health care and maple syrup. A vast country where the humble, hard working beaver is the national symbol and ice hockey its’ religion.

Locals call it the Great White North. But for cigarette smokers, it’s one of the darkest, most restricted places on Earth to be one.

On a recent trip to my beloved homeland, I discovered how far apart Canada and the Czech Republic are when it comes to tobacco laws.

Smokers beware! The following material may be scary or offensive to some of you. But read on to see if Canada is the future of (not) smoking or just a bad dream.

Let’s start with the ground rules. First, you must be 18 years of age to buy cigarettes in Canada. Number two: it is perfectly legal to smoke outside or in your home. But that’s pretty much about it.

Everywhere else it’s absolutely forbidden by law to smoke – in public spaces, in buildings and in workplaces. So you can forget about lighting up in a bar, club or restaurant. Want to have cigarette with your coffee? Tough luck eh! Better get that coffee to go.

Smoking cigarettes has become an outdoor sport in Canada.

And if standing outside freezing your butt off in the middle of a hard Canadian winter doesn’t discourage you from popping out for a quick smoke, then the price of cigarettes surely will.

Canadian cigarettes are not cheap. In fact, they are ridiculously expensive. A pack of 25 king size cigarettes costs about 11 Canadian dollars. That works out to about 180 Kč a pack! Ouch.

Of course most of that outrageous price is taxes. In some Canadian provinces, more than 70% of every pack of cigarettes sold goes straight into the government’s pocket. Now that’s what I call a sin tax.

Ironically, cigarettes are not difficult to buy in Canada. Day or night there are a wide variety of 24 hr. convenience stores (note: Canadian potraviny) where you can purchase cigarettes. The trick is to find or even see tobacco products displayed anywhere in the store.

That’s because new federal laws in Canada (since late 2008) prohibit the open display of cigarettes for sale in retail outlets. The argument being what people don’t see, they won’t buy. And then smoke.

Cigarette packs and cartons are now kept in closed cabinets, usually below the counter or above and facing away from the eyes of customers. Picking up a pack of smokes has become like buying porno magazines - sort of taboo.

In terms of tobacco advertising in Canada, there’s little to none - no TV, no radio, no magazine, no outdoor, no promotions and nothing in retail. And since 2003, cigarette companies are not allowed to sponsor anything, anywhere in Canada. It’s pretty much a total ban – a true Canadian white out.

That means that Canadian cigarette companies probably don’t have to spend much money on advertising and marketing. I know it sounds illogical or even sacrilegious, but what if the highly restricted tobacco market in Canada actually makes things more profitable for tobacco companies?

Then there’s the pack itself. Full color photographic health warnings cover 50% of all cigarette packaging in Canada. A rotating mix of black lungs, pregnant women and cancerous mouths appear on every pack. My personal favorite motif – a curved cigarette that looks like a limp penis – warns that smoking can cause male impotence. (see attached pic)

Finally, inside every cigarette pack sold in Canada you will find a small insert from Health Canada - in both English and French - warning that cigarettes are bad for you and that nicotine is highly addictive. Health Canada even provides a useful web link for those interested in kicking the habit.

Needless to say, it isn’t easy to be a smoker in Canada.

In spite of all these restrictions, roughly 20% of adult Canadians continue to smoke. They are obviously a tough and stubborn lot. Forced outside all year round like lepers onto the streets and sidewalks of Canada. Just to have a smoke break.

It’s funny, when friends of mine from Canada come to visit me in Prague; they are often surprised that the Czech Republic is such a permissive smoker’s paradise. Czech laws and Czech people in general are much more tolerant of cigarette smoking than in Canada or in most other European countries.

I suspect it is only a matter of time before EU smoking bans in bars and restaurants come to the Czech Republic. It will be interesting to see how Czech smokers choose to adapt. Will they respect the new laws about smoking in public places? Or somehow go around them?

Time will tell. Whatever happens, I advise Czech smokers not to despair. Things could be worse – you could live in Canada

David Broder
Creative Group Head
Leo Burnett Praha