Health Canada and the Small Guys Cigar Group Meeting: Comments on the proposed Regulations Amending the Tobacco Products Regulations (Plain and Standardized Appearance) – August 24, 2022

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Subject:

The Small Guys Cigar Group (SGCG) requested a meeting to present to Health Canada their input regarding the proposed Regulations Amending the Tobacco Products Regulations (Plain and Standardized Appearance), which were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on June 11, 2022.

Date:

August 24, 2022

Participants:

Health Canada (HC)

• Denis Choinière (Chair), Acting Director General, Tobacco Control Directorate (TCD)
• Stephen Moir, Acting Associate Director, Office of Compliance of Tobacco and Vaping Products (OCTVP), TCD
• Michel Blanchard, Acting Director, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning (OPSP), TCD
• Sally Gibbs, Director, Tobacco, Vaping and Controlled Substances Division, Consumer Product and Controlled Substances Directorate (CPCSD), Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch (ROEB)
• Senior Manager, Tobacco, Vaping and Controlled Substances Division, CPCSD, Ontario Region, ROEB
• Acting Manager, Systems Configuration Unit, OCTVP, TCD
• Acting Manager, International and Regulatory Policy Unit, OPSP, TCD
• Manager, Tobacco Labelling, Tobacco Products Regulatory Office (TPRO), TCD
• Senior Policy Analyst, Tobacco Labelling, TPRO, TCD, (observer)
• Policy Analyst, Tobacco Labelling, TPRO, TCD (observer)
• Policy Analyst, Tobacco Labelling, TPRO, TCD (observer)
• Policy Analyst, Plain and Standardized Packaging, OCTVP, TCD (observer)
• Senior Program Officer, OCTVP, TCD (observer)
• Junior Policy Analyst, International and Regulatory Policy Unit, OPSP, TCD (observer)
• Policy Analyst, International and Regulatory Policy Unit, OPSP, TCD (secretariat)

SGCG

• Roger Lanteigne, Commercial Manager, Havana House
• Daniel More, President, Bingham Enterprises
• Kyle Wilcox, General Manager, Bingham Enterprises
• Colm O'Shea, Vice-President, House of Horvath
• Joanna Liriano, Business Analyst, House of Horvath

Introduction:

A meeting was held at the request of the SGCG in order to provide Health Canada with their comments on the proposed Regulations Amending the Tobacco Products Regulations (Plain and Standardized Appearance), published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on June 11, 2022.

Health Canada read a transparency and openness statement, reminding CTMC representatives that the meeting is subject to disclosure as per Health Canada's Openness and Transparency policies. In the interest of transparency, the Department stated that it would be making a record of the meeting publicly available. The handling of information and privacy notice was mentioned and acknowledged.

Health Canada also referred to Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the department's international obligation to protect tobacco control policies from the vested interests of the tobacco industry.

The Chair then invited participants to introduce themselves.

Subjects:

The SGCG presented challenges faced as well as questions pertaining to the proposed regulations. Their points included:

• Challenges meeting the deadline for the public consultation (held from June 11, 2022 to August 25, 2022) and their recent request for an extension of the consultation period.
• HC confirmed that the consultation period is decided by the Treasury Board and HC has no discretionary power to extend it.
• How to provide recommendations for the public consultation.
  • HC suggested this can be done in writing, to the e-mail address provided with the proposed regulations.
• Whether there would be an additional consultation following publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II (if the proposal were to move forward).
  • HC confirmed there would not be, as publications in the Canada Gazette, Part II, are final regulations.
• Challenges specific to manufacturing cigars (i.e. varying sizes and weights, which influence packaging).
  • SGCG recommended that HC recognize the different types of cigars for the proposal and any future regulations, which would support their compliance efforts.
• Various technical challenges, including:
• How to display the health warnings on certain products (such as those that come in pouches, without side panels)
• Applying a barcode and toxicity information to the back panel of a pouch due to limited size (maximum 33% space available)
• Difficulty applying the proposed requirements to tobacco tins (not able to print on the side of the tin) and cigar bundles
• Health warnings covering the packaging for cigar bundles, hence hiding its plain appearance.
• Proposed requirements for fixed-size warnings (rather than percentage-based warnings), would be easier to implement.
• Expressed concerns with the new leaflet size, which may not fit inside certain cigar packages, hence their request to keep the current size.
• HC suggested that the SGCG provide their comments in writing as part of the public consultation, even if they are brief.

Conclusion:

The meeting was concluded.

Documents:

• Agenda as provided by the Small Guys Cigar Group