How new federal tobacco legislation could benefit corporate media

The Conservative government has proposed an amendment to the Tobacco Act to eliminate advertising in publications that demonstrate more than 85 percent of their readers are adults.

Bill C-32 went through first reading earlier this week. I feel partially vindicated because I wrote an article last year explaining how the federal government could ban tobacco advertising if it had the will to do so.

Long after  that article appeared,  I was surprised to learn that senior  representatives of the B.C. Lung Association and the Clean Air Coalition of B.C.—which both profess to oppose tobacco advertising—had not contacted a single MP to  ask for a  ban tobacco advertising. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, on the other hand, has been very vigilant in this area.

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada has obviously had an effect on the politicians. But  Bill C-32 still leaves a gaping loophole.  The Tobacco Act will still  permit  cigarette ads in "a publication that is provided by mail and addressed to an adult who is identified by name".

Adults who subscribe to glossy  magazines often have children living  in their homes, which means these kids will be exposed to tobacco advertising.  

If the Conservative  government is serious about eliminating the exposure of tobacco marketing messages to children, it will ban all cigarette advertising, including in  publications that are delivered to people's homes. Otherwise, it will appear as though the Conservative government is trying to preserve a revenue stream for large corporations that own glossy publications, such as the Canadian edition of Time magazine, while eliminating advertising everywhere else.

Perhaps some Liberal, NDP or Bloc Quebecois MPs will raise this issue when the bill reaches the committee.  There's plenty of time to propose an amendment that would ban all tobacco advertising in Canada.