Tobacco still remains the leading preventable cause of disease and death in Canada, killing 37,000 Canadians annually. Direct health-care costs from tobacco exceed $4.4 billion per year, and total economic costs are greater than $17 billion per year.
For every premature death caused by tobacco, there are at least 20 people living with a tobacco-related illness. There are still a significant number of youth and young adults starting to smoke, taken in by the subtle tobacco-industry marketing.
We need to get our legislators to act by preventing people who do not smoke from beginning to smoke and becoming addicted to tobacco by unmasking the tobacco industry and its predatory marketing practices, and denormalizing tobacco products and their use.
We should ensure that the tobacco industry is regulated in a manner consistent with the chemical industry and other hazardous products.
Peter Coy, MD
Victoria
