2nd Session, 35th Parliament,
45 Elizabeth II, 1996-97

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-71

An Act to regulate the manufacture, sale, labelling and promotion of tobacco products, to make consequential amendments to another Act and to repeal certain Acts

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Tobacco Act.

INTERPRETATION

Definitions

2. The definitions in this section apply in this Act.

``accessory''
« accessoire »

``accessory'' means a product that may be used in the consumption of a tobacco prod uct, including a pipe, cigarette holder, cigar clip, lighter and matches.

``analyst''
« analyste »

``analyst'' means a person designated as an analyst under subsection 34(1).

``brand element''
« élément de marque »

``brand element'' includes a brand name, trade-mark, trade-name, distinguishing guise, logo, graphic arrangement, design or slogan that is reasonably associated with, or that evokes, a product, a service or a brand of product or service, but does not include a colour.

``emission''
« émission »

``emission'' means a substance that is pro duced when a tobacco product is used.

``entity''
« entité »

``entity'' includes a corporation, firm, partner ship, association, society, trust or other or ganization, whether incorporated or not.

``furnish''
« fournir »

``furnish'' means to sell, lend, assign, give or send, with or without consideration, or to barter or deposit with another person for the performance of a service.

``inspector''
« inspecteur »

``inspector'' means a person designated as an inspector under subsection 34(1).

``manufacture ''
« fabriquer »

``manufacture'', in respect of tobacco prod ucts, includes the packaging, labelling, dis tributing and importing of tobacco products for sale in Canada.

``manufacture r''
« fabricant »

``manufacturer'', in respect of tobacco prod ucts, includes any entity that is associated with a manufacturer, including an entity that controls or is controlled by the manufacturer or that is controlled by the same entity that controls the manufacturer.

``Minister''
« ministre »

``Minister'' means the Minister of Health.

``package''
« emballage »

``package'' means the container, receptacle or wrapper in which a tobacco product is sold.

``prescribed'' Version anglaise seulement

``prescribed'' means prescribed by regulation.

``retailer''
« détaillant »

``retailer'' means a person who is engaged in a business that includes the sale of a tobacco product to consumers.

``sell''
« vendre »

``sell'' includes offer for sale and expose for sale.

``tobacco product''
« produit du tabac »

``tobacco product'' means a product com posed in whole or in part of tobacco, includ ing tobacco seeds and leaves and any ex tract of tobacco seeds and leaves. It includes cigarette papers, tubes and filters but does not include any food, drug or device that contains nicotine to which the Food and Drugs Act applies.

``young person''
« jeune »

``young person'' means a person under eigh teen years of age.

HER MAJESTY

Binding on Her Majesty

3. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

PURPOSE

Purpose of Act

4. The purpose of this Act is to provide a legislative response to a national public health problem of substantial and pressing concern and, in particular,

    (a) to protect the health of Canadians in light of conclusive evidence implicating tobacco use in the incidence of numerous debilitating and fatal diseases;

    (b) to protect young persons and others from inducements to use tobacco products and the consequent dependence on them;

    (c) to protect the health of young persons by restricting access to tobacco products; and

    (d) to enhance public awareness of the health hazards of using tobacco products.

PART I

TOBACCO PRODUCTS

Product standards

5. No person shall manufacture a tobacco product that does not conform with the standards established by the regulations.

Information required from manufacturer

6. Every manufacturer of a tobacco product shall provide to the Minister, in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed time, infor mation about the product and its emissions, as required by the regulations.

Regulations

7. The Governor in Council may make regulations

    (a) establishing standards for tobacco prod ucts, including

      (i) prescribing the amounts of substances that may be contained in the product or its emissions, and

      (ii) prescribing substances that may not be added to tobacco products;

    (b) prescribing test methods, including methods to assess conformity with the standards;

    (c) prescribing information that manufac turers must provide to the Minister about tobacco products and their emissions, in cluding sales data and information on product composition, ingredients, hazard ous properties and brand elements;

    (d) prescribing the means, including elec tronic, by which the information referred to in paragraph (c) may be communicated to the Minister; and

    (e) generally for carrying out the purposes of this Part.

PART II

ACCESS

Furnishing tobacco products

8. (1) No person shall furnish a tobacco product to a young person in a public place or in a place to which the public reasonably has access.

Defence

(2) A person shall not be found to have contravened subsection (1) if it is established that the person attempted to verify that the person was at least eighteen years of age by asking for and being shown documentation prescribed for the purposes of verifying age, and believed on reasonable grounds that the documentation was authentic.

Signs

9. Every retailer shall post, at retail, in the prescribed place and manner, signs in the prescribed form and with the prescribed content, that inform the public that the sale or giving of a tobacco product to a young person is prohibited by law, or that contain a pre scribed health message, unless that retailer is exempted by the regulations from the require ment to post the signs.

Number of cigarettes in package

10. (1) No person shall sell cigarettes except in a package that contains at least twenty cigarettes or at least a prescribed number of cigarettes, which number shall be more than twenty.

Number of tobacco products

(2) No person shall sell a tobacco product, other than cigarettes, that is prescribed for the purposes of this subsection, in a package that contains fewer than the prescribed number or less than the prescribed quantity of the product.

Self-service display

11. No person, unless exempted by the regulations, shall sell a tobacco product by means of a display that permits a person to handle the tobacco product before paying for it.

Dispensing device

12. No person shall furnish or permit the furnishing of a tobacco product by means of a device that dispenses tobacco products except where the device is in a place to which the public does not reasonably have access or where that device has a security mechanism that is activated before each transaction.

Deliver or mail

13. (1) No person shall, for consideration, cause a tobacco product to be delivered from one province to another or to be sent by mail unless the delivery or mailing is between manufacturers or retailers or the person is otherwise exempted by the regulations.

Advertising an offer

(2) No person shall advertise an offer to deliver a tobacco product from one province to another or to mail a tobacco product.

Regulations

14. The Governor in Council may make regulations

    (a) prescribing the documentation that may be used to verify the age of a person for the purposes of subsection 8(2);

    (b) exempting persons from the application of sections 9, 11 and 13;

    (c) prescribing signs that are required by section 9 to be posted, including their form, size, content, number and placement;

    (d) prescribing tobacco products for the purposes of subsection 10(2);

    (e) respecting exemptions from the applica tion of section 12;

    (f) prescribing anything that by this Part is to be prescribed; and

    (g) generally for carrying out the purposes of this Part.

PART III

LABELLING

Information required on packages

15. (1) No manufacturer or retailer shall sell a tobacco product unless the package contain ing it displays, in the prescribed form and manner, the information required by the regulations about the product and its emis sions, and about the health hazards and health effects arising from the use of the product or from its emissions.

Information required on leaflet

(2) If required by the regulations, every manufacturer or retailer shall provide, in the prescribed form and manner, a leaflet that displays the information required by the regulations about a tobacco product and its emissions and about the health hazards and health effects arising from the use of the product and from its emissions.

Attribution

(3) The information referred to in subsec tions (1) and (2) may be attributed to a prescribed person or body if the attribution is made in the prescribed manner.

Existing obligations saved

16. This Part does not affect any obligation of a manufacturer or retailer at law or under an Act of Parliament or of a provincial legislature to warn consumers of the health hazards and health effects arising from the use of tobacco products or from their emissions.

Regulations

17. The Governor in Council may make regulations

    (a) respecting the information that must appear on packages and in leaflets about tobacco products and their emissions and the health hazards and health effects arising from the use of the products and from their emissions;

    (b) prescribing anything that by this Part is to be prescribed; and

    (c) generally for carrying out the purposes of this Part.

PART IV