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Middlesex-London Health Unit Acknowledges Historic Tobacco Settlement and Reflects on Public Health’s Impact on Smoking and Vaping

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The Middlesex-London Health Unit acknowledges a historic win for the health system last week as the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved a $32.5 billion-dollar settlement against three big tobacco companies. After a decades long lawsuit, the tobacco companies will pay more than $24 billion to provinces and territories over two decades.

Provincial and territorial governments sued the tobacco companies to recover billions of dollars spent treating smoking-related illnesses, holding the commercial tobacco industry accountable for their deceptive marketing practices and for withholding information about the harmful and addictive nature of their products. Public health units across Ontario, including the Middlesex-London Health Unit, play a key role in advancing policies to reduce tobacco and vapour-related health harms, enforcing municipal smoke-free bylaws and provincial commercial tobacco control legislation, preventing smoking and vaping initiation, and encouraging those who do smoke or vape, to quit.

Some highlights over the years:

  • In 2000, Canada became the first country to require picture warnings on tobacco packages, setting a world-wide precedent, with regulations taking effect in 2001. There are now more than 115 countries/jurisdictions that have followed the Canadian model.
  • In 2003, the City of London and County of Middlesex smoke-free workplace and public place bylaws came into effect.
  • In 2006, Ontario banned smoking in restaurants, bars, and all enclosed workplaces and public spaces to protect workers and the public from the hazards of second-hand smoke.
  • In 2006, Ontario banned the retail promotion of tobacco products.
  • In 2008, Ontario banned the display of tobacco products where they are sold.
  • In 2016, Canada prohibited the sale of flavoured tobacco products.
  • In 2017, Ontario banned smoking and vaping in many outdoor public spaces, including patios, parks, sports fields, and community recreational facility property.
  • In 2019, Canada implemented the world’s best tobacco plain packaging regulations.

“Public health unit staff are at the centre of efforts related to tighter tobacco regulations designed to reduce the significant health harms from the use of commercial tobacco and vapour products. We have staff that work with our local municipal partners to enforce tobacco control measures in retail shops and sit on regional and provincial committees to promote prevention and cessation programming,” says Dr. Alex Summers, Medical Officer of Health, Middlesex-London Health Unit. “Although we have made strides in tobacco control there is still more work to be done, and this settlement will provide opportunities to help prevent tobacco and vapour product use and address ongoing health concerns.”

To learn more about our work to protect our communities from the health harms associated with commercial tobacco and vapour products, visit our website at: www.healthunit.com/tobacco-and-vapour-products.

Fast Facts:

  • Remaining relatively stable over time, about 2 in 10 adults in Middlesex-London report smoking commercial tobacco products either occasionally or daily (CCHS 2019-2020).
  • In Middlesex-London, approximately 12% of adults reported daily smoking in 2019/2020, which is comparable to Ontario and the Peer Group (CCHS, 2019-2020).
  • Approximately 96.5% of youth aged 12-18 years in Middlesex-London self-reported having never smoked commercial tobacco products (CCHS, 2019-2020).
  • In an average year, an estimated 597 deaths, 2,082 hospitalizations, and 3,917 emergency department visits in Middlesex-London were attributable to smoking in people aged 35 years and older (Public Health Ontario, 2023).
  • Rates of youth vaping remain alarmingly high with 21.5% of Ontario high school students in grades 10-12 reporting current use (CSTADS, 2022).
  • A 2019 Public Health Ontario report estimates that in 2018, smoking cost Ontario $2.7 billion in direct healthcare costs and $4.2 billion in indirect costs (Public Health Ontario, 2020).
  • The 2023 projected smoking-attributable health care expenditure in Ontario for individuals aged 20 and older is $4.4 billion (Manuel et al., 2018).

To view more data, visit our community health status resource on substance use: www.healthunit.com/community-health-status-resource#substance-use

References:

Tags: tobacco, settlement, smoking, vaping, historic