Legal Age to Buy Cigarettes in Bc

The World Health Organization`s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (available at www.who.int/tobacco/framework/WHO_FCTC_english.pdf) requires participating countries to prohibit the sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18. Most countries have a legal minimum age of 18 or 19, but it can be as low as 14 (e.g. Egypt and Malawi) or 16 (e.g. Austria and Belgium). In Japan, the legal age to buy tobacco is 20; There are 21 in Guam, Honduras, Kuwait, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Uganda and parts of the United States. In Canada, the legal age is 18. However, six provinces—British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island—have raised the legal age to 19 (although the age of majority in Ontario and Prince Edward Island is 18). The overall prevalence of smoking in these six provinces is 11.7%, compared to 14.8% in the four provinces where the legal age is 18.6 Canada should enact federal laws prohibiting the sale of all tobacco and nicotine products – with the exception of smoking cessation products – to persons under the age of 21. It should strictly enforce this law, but not punish people under the age of 21 who buy, possess or smoke tobacco because they should not be considered criminals. This law should be phased in over two or three years so that legal smokers are not forced to quit abruptly. As doctors, we must spare no effort to prevent young people from starting to smoke. Eighteen or 19 year olds are too young to have legal access to an addictive and carcinogenic product that can never be used safely.

Raising the legal age of access to tobacco is a scientifically proven, legally and politically feasible, fast, cheap and effective way to deprive the tobacco industry of recruiting a new generation of young people as customers. The law restricts the sale of tobacco products through vending machines. The law prohibits the sale of individual cigarettes and small packs of cigarettes. The sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18 is prohibited. The Tobacco Restriction Act is passed, making it illegal to sell cigarettes to persons under the age of 16. The BC Cancer Agency cites a report published in the National Academics of Science, Engineering and Medicine that found that raising the legal age to 21 means that those who can legally buy tobacco are less likely to be on the same social networks as high school students, meaning access to tobacco will be lower for people in this age group. It is illegal for minors to buy, use or possess tobacco products in public Minors caught red-handed usually receive a warning or a $30 fine, with their school and parents informed and follow-up action taken by the school. Minors arrested more than once must attend at least two smoking cessation counseling sessions to aggravate their crimes. Minors who do not meet the above requirements, or if arrested four or more times, may be charged in court and, if convicted, fined up to $300. [107] The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Saskatchewan may reinstate a controversial law requiring merchants to store tobacco products behind curtains or doors.

The so-called “shower curtain law” was passed in 2002 to hide cigarettes from children, but was struck down a year later by an appeals court. A new law banning cigarillos and flavoured cigarettes comes into effect across Canada. These measures were included in an amendment to the Tobacco Act in 2009. The law allows the retail sale of electronic cigarettes. Restrictions on the use of e-cigarettes in indoor and public workplaces generally fall under the jurisdiction of provinces, territories and municipalities. Under federal law, the use of e-cigarettes is prohibited in places where smoking is prohibited, including all federal government workplaces, with some exceptions for living quarters and work areas to which only one person normally has access during a shift (e.g., , vehicle workstations). The advertising, promotion and sponsorship of e-cigarettes is limited, as is the presentation of products at points of sale. Text warnings are required on the product packaging.

The sale of electronic cigarettes is prohibited to persons under the age of 18. Some subnational jurisdictions have more sales restrictions than the federal level. A historic $27 billion class action lawsuit begins in Montreal against Imperial Tobacco, JTI MacDonald and Rothmans Benson & Hedges. The complainants allege that the tobacco companies failed to warn them of the risks and encouraged cigarette addiction.