Ontario’s Doctors welcome the government’s initiative to ban flavoured tobacco including menthol

Toronto, ON, Nov. 24, 2014 – Ontario’s Doctors welcomed the introduction today of the Making Healthier Choices Act, which will help protect our youth from the dangers of tobacco. “Every day, I see people in my office who are seriously ill or who are dying because of smoking. Flavoured tobacco products are aimed squarely at children and teenagers. Ontario’s Doctors welcome this legislation because it will work to protect our children from flavoured tobacco products and reduce the number of youth who start smoking,” said Dr. Scott Wooder, Past President of the Ontario Medical Association.

Ontario’s Doctors have advocated for menthol cigarettes to be included in any ban on flavoured tobacco, in an effort to help curb the number of youth who smoke.

• New data shows that nearly a quarter of young smokers in Ontario report smoking menthol cigarettes.
• Youth in Grades 9-12 who smoke menthol cigarettes smoke almost a pack more per week than their peers who use regular cigarettes; and those same youth are almost three times more likely to report they intend to continue smoking compared to their non-menthol smoking peers.
• Findings have shown that menthol produces a cooling and desensitizing effect on the mouth and throat.
• Menthol can also significantly reduce irritation caused by exposure to nicotine, and can lead to inhibition of nicotine metabolism, allowing the smoker to more comfortably use nicotine for prolonged periods of time.
• The percentage of adults smokers who use menthol cigarettes is somewhere between two and five per cent.

For more information, please contact:
OMA Media Relations
416.340.2862 or toll-free at 1.800.268.7215, ext. 2862
media@oma.org
@OntariosDoctors