by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
January 14, 2005
a group of health officials launched an action in the Federal Court of Canada against Canada’s Competition Bureau. Back in 2003, the group provided the Bureau with a two volume, 600-page complaint about the practice of cigarette manufacturers labelling some of their products as being "mild" or "light". The health officials claim that this practice is deceptive and leads smokers to believe that light and mild cigarettes do not pose any health hazard or if they do, the effects are less harmful than regular cigarettes. Of course if there are less toxic substances in mild cigarettes, that loss can be made up by smoking more.
The group cannot be criticized for commencing the action. agree or disagree with them, once they have made a complaint, they are entitled to a ruling. The application to Federal Court was not commenced to obtain a particular ruling, although that’s what the ultimate goal is; it is rather to force the Competition Bureau to make a decision. The Competition Bureau’s answer is that the problem is complex and that they are still working on it.
David Sweanor, an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa, stated in a press release that the Competition Bureau may be stalling in the hopes that Parliament might introduce legislation that will prohibit the offending terms from the advertising and packaging of cigarettes. Sweanor has a point. Back in 2001, then Minister of Health, allan Rock, promised legislation to prohibit cigarette manufacturers from using the words, light, mild, or similar descriptions for their products. But with dreams of becoming prime minister dancing in his head, Rock never got around to taking the promised action.
The Competition Bureau is correct that the matter is complex. after all the issue is not that the low tar cigarettes are safe and do not pose a health hazard. The issue is based upon the premise that Canadians, in this case smokers, are just too dumb to realize that if they smoke more low tar cigarettes, they will receive the same amount of tar as if they smoked less cigarettes with higher contents of tar. In other words, the prohibition is aimed to protect the lowest common denominator of society--those who believe what they want to believe; that "mild" or "light" cigarettes are safe. The Competition Bureau must decide, not if lighter cigarettes pose a health hazard, but if consumers are actually deceived by the marketing practices of the tobacco companies. How many people are deceived into thinking that mild or light cigarettes are safe?
The Competition Bureau must make a decision that is based upon not the safety of cigarettes but the stupidity and gullibility of smokers; something that will take time to determine.
Of course to the group of health officials bringing the action, their main purpose is not to protect the gullible. It is to go after the big bad tobacco companies. If this was the serious issue that the group says it was, the government would have passed legislation by now. after all, the governing Liberals have never been shy about passing politically correct legislation.
although there is this hue and cry about mild and light cigarettes, there doesn’t seem to be any outcry against breweries labelling some of their products as "light". If people can be "deceived" into thinking that smoking mild cigarettes cannot cause any harm, then they can also be deceived into thinking that they can remain sober while chugging down light beer. "Gee, officer, I had 15 bottles of beer, but it was light beer". But for some strange reason, light beer seems to escape the notice of those who can never be happy unless they are able to control every aspect of the lives of Canadians.
The government should just pass legislation to prohibit the offending words from being used to describe cigarettes. after all, it is only a matter of time before they do.