A Smokeless Canada is Within Reach -- Let's Talk Facts Français

Cision Canada

31-05-2025

MONTREAL, May 31, 2025 /CNW/ - On World No Tobacco Day, Imperial Tobacco Canada (Imperial) is calling on government, health advocates, and all Canadians to embrace harm reduction as a key strategy to achieve a smokeless Canada in the next decade. Despite years of public health efforts, approximately 11 percent of Canadian adults continue to smoke cigarettes — a figure that has remained relatively unchanged in recent years and which underscores the need to reevaluate the existing tobacco control approach and champion harm reduction as a key strategy to decrease smoking rates in Canada more quickly.
At Imperial, the goal is clear: to help adults quit smoking or switch to less harmful alternatives. Similar to Health Canada's and Canadian health groups' goal of a Smoke Free Canada, Imperial is focused on reducing smoking rates to below 5% by 2035. But to do that adult smokers need a world where harm reduction is understood and supported.
"For years, nicotine has been misunderstood, largely because its use was predominantly through the act of cigarette smoking." said Frank Silva, President and CEO of Imperial. "We need people to understand that nicotine, while addictive, does not cause cancer and is not the cause of smoking related diseases. By offering adult smokers access to less harmful alternatives that deliver nicotine without combustion, we can, in fact, significantly reduce the health impact on the Canadian Society."
To that end, and to demonstrate our seriousness about reducing smoking in Canada, Imperial became the first company, in 2023, to launch a Health Canada approved nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product in the form of a nicotine pouch, called ZONNIC, to help smokers quit. A product that shortly after its introduction, was pulled from shelves by an unprecedented Ministerial Order and put behind the counter at pharmacies.
"Restricting access to a Health Canada approved cessation tool contradicts the fundamental principle of harm reduction," said Silva. "ZONNIC was licensed by Health Canada following a three-year approval process and is now held to stricter standards than all other similar NRTs like gums and lozenges. The evidence shows that if you want to help smokers quit, make cessation alternatives available where cigarettes are sold. The discrimination of the Ministerial Order has now created two major public health issues.
It has reduced the amount of time pharmacists have to provide front-line care for all Canadians.
It has created another flourishing illegal nicotine market in Canada, where unregulated and unsafe products are available with zero regulatory oversight and underage prevention. Both seriously undermining public health progress.
On this World No Tobacco Day, Imperial is committed to unmask the myths and the rhetoric by focusing on the irrefutable weight of evidence from leading health organizations around the world. "The only way we can truly help adults quit, is by embracing harm reduction and making approved products such as ZONNIC available where smokers buy their cigarettes." Silva concluded.
Countries such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Japan, that have embraced this opportunity and implemented supportive policies are now recording the lowest smoking rates in their history.
Imperial supports efforts to ensure that safer choices are available to those who need them. A smokeless Canada is possible, but only if we embrace the full range of solutions available.
About Imperial Tobacco Canada
Imperial Tobacco Canada is the leading tobacco and nicotine company in Canada, part of the global BAT group. Our mission at BAT is to create A Better Tomorrow™ by promoting a Smokeless World. We envision a future where smokeless products replace cigarettes, encouraging smokers to make a Switch to Better.
Imperial is committed to advancing THR through transparency, innovation, and collaboration. One such initiative is Omni™, a platform developed by our parent company BAT, to support education and stakeholder engagement around THR. Omni™ serves as a dynamic resource for those working toward a smoke-free future.