Ban on tobacco displays 'puts health first' (Ontario, Canada)

[Euphoric]

Ban on tobacco displays 'puts health first'

Premier says stores had years to get ready for May 31 deadline
Apr 21, 2008 04:30 AM
Ontario smokers will soon have to thumb through a binder to pick the brand of their choice at convenience stores as the province ushers in a ban on cigarette displays that the government says is necessary to save lives despite growing concern among store owners.

While half of Ontario's 10,000 convenience stores say they won't be ready to hide all their smokes by the province's May 31 deadline, Premier Dalton McGuinty said businesses have had years to comply with new rules which he said will make smoking less of a temptation for kids.

"Don't we have to put health first?" McGuinty said. "You ask any parents – smokers and non-smokers alike – `Do you want your kids to start smoking?' They'll all give you the same answer, `Of course I don't.'

"Science has demonstrated that these power walls are effective at enticing kids so we want to get beyond that."

The new ban prevents all tobacco products from being displayed in any way and prohibits customers from even touching them before they're paid for.

It's time convenience stores stopped selling cigarettes right beside "Twizzlers and hockey cards," said Margarett Best, minister of health promotion.

"The industry knew this was coming for over three years," Best said in the Legislature recently. "We are working with our partners to ensure a smooth transition."

But many say the switch is going to be anything but smooth.

While Best said enforcement officers have visited more than 5,000 Ontario stores to prepare them for the new law, many say store owners need more time and government support.

Although the display ban was passed under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act two years ago, store owners didn't get the specific requirements until the end of January.

The Ontario Convenience Stores Association says it's going to cost retailers thousands of dollars to build new storage units and dismantle the so-called "power walls."

Quebec's display ban also comes into effect at the end of May, so the limited number of companies that make the required storage units are already backed up, association president Dave Bryans said.

All tobacco products will be covered up in some way by May 31, using shower curtains if necessary, said Bryans.

But that won't be enough to protect store owners from over-zealous tobacco enforcement officers, he added.

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said the Liberal government is showing it's completely insensitive to the plight of small-business owners while it ignores the growing illegal cigarette trade.

New Democrat Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park) said the display ban on tobacco products should have been brought in a long time ago. But she said it's wrong to rush it through now without any support for retailers.

http://www.thestar.com/article/416557

[FuBai]

Originally Posted by McGuinty

"Don't we have to put health first?"

I actually said "no" out loud when I read that. I'm not totally against the scheme - so long as there is some catalogue that people can look through I don't really see a problem with putting cigarettes out of sight, but the idea that enforced protection of health should come above individual liberty is something I certainly don't agree with.

[AquafinaOrbit]

Originally Posted by FuBai

I actually said "no" out loud when I read that. I'm not totally against the scheme - so long as there is some catalogue that people can look through I don't really see a problem with putting cigarettes out of sight, but the idea that enforced protection of health should come above individual liberty is something I certainly don't agree with.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[The_Tortured_Soul]

I think everyone is being a bit illogical when it comes to the cigarette war. Yes, cigarettes are carcinogic, but I don't remember being a kid and deciding to smoke because I saw packs of cigarettes in a styore. I started smoking at 17, because my friends told me about it giving a cool head buzz plus I was always facinated by it for some reason even though my family is mostly non-smokers. Now I am addicted, but it's my fault and when I decide I really do want to quit I can quit it. It just seems like the government always wants to get overbearing on both ends of the political spectrum and not just in the USA, but worldwide.