Canada becomes the first country in the world to print health warnings on individual cigarettes

Canada is about to become the first nation to print health warnings on individual cigarettes.

The cigarettes will carry warnings such as 'poison in every puff', 'cigarettes cause cancer' and 'cigarettes cause impotence' in what the Canadian government says is an effort to make it 'virtually impossible to avoid health warnings altogether'.

Canadians will see the warnings, which will be printed in English and French near the filter, from next year.

“Tobacco use continues to kill 48,000 Canadians each year. We are taking action by being the first country in the world to label individual cigarettes with health warning messages,” said Carolyn Bennett, who was minister of mental health and addictions when the rules were first announced in May.

Health Canada

The move is part of a new set of rules called the Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations (TPAPLR) that came into effect on Tuesday.

As part of TPAPLR, the warning messages will change every two to three years depending on the product.

King size cigarettes will be the first to feature the individual health warnings and will be sold by retailers in Canada by the end of July 2024, followed by regular size cigarettes and little cigars with tipping paper, and tubes, by the end of April 2025.

According to the Canadian government, about 13 per cent of Canadians use tobacco, which costs the public healthcare system more than $6 billion annually.

"Tobacco use continues to be one of Canada's most significant public health problems, and is the country's leading preventable cause of disease and premature death in Canada," Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said.

ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP via Getty Images

"Our government is using every evidence-based tool at our disposal to help protect the health of Canadians, especially young people."

The Canadian Cancer Society, Canada's Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Lung Association hope the measures will stop young people from taking up smoking in the first place.

Dr Robert Schwartz, of the University of Toronto, told BBC News it was a positive step forward for Canada.

"Health warnings on individual cigarettes will likely push some people who smoke to make a quit attempt and may prevent some young people from starting to smoke," he said.

He added: "These are the kinds of measures needed if we are serious about decreasing tobacco use."

The move is part of the Canadian government's goal to reduce nationwide tobacco use to less than five per cent by 2035.