On May 23rd, 2018, Bill S-5, An Act to Amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-Smokers Health Act became law, laying the groundwork for plain packaging and other standardization measures.
Convenience stores operate a legal, respected and trusted business that serves and employs people from the community. It’s time to speak up and be heard:
WHAT ARE WE ACTING ON?
PLAIN AND STANDARDIZED PACKAGING
The Act mandates the same colours, fonts and format for all packaging – and no logos.
✔️ Let’s make sure legal tobacco products are identifiable and easy to tell apart from illegal products.
COSTS FOR RETRO-FIT AND TIGHT DEADLINES
Retailers have nine months to become fully compliant. Nine months to plan and implement new shelving, storage and planograms and educate clerks on the new regulations.
✔️ We urge the government to extend the implementation timeline to 12-18 months.
REMOVAL OF DISTINGUISHING MARKS
The CCSA retailer survey, as Health Canada noted in their assessment of the impact of S–5 regulations on small businesses, only pertains to the cost of plain – not standardized – packaging.
Preliminary discussions with retailers, paticulary small independent stores, points to potential costs of $1,500 per store to retro-fit their current shelves to accommodate slide and shell packaging only.
These concerns are further compounded by accelerated timelines outlined in the regulations.
✔️ We recommend that Health Canada put a hold on implementing standardized packaging until a thorough assessment of the costs and implications (i.e, impact on the contraband market) has been conducted.
SPEAKING OUT
Final regulations are currently being drafted
From now until October 31st, there is an opportunity to influence these regulations
As a business owner in a democratic country, you have a right to share your comments and concerns with your political representative.
HOW CAN I REACH MY MP?
The Advocacy Tool Kit provides you with three different ways to engage your political representatives in less than 5 minutes!
By email
By Letter
By Phone