On the week leading up to World No Tobacco Day,
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada is calling on the
government of British Columbia and Manitoba to bring
their public health laws up to the standards of other
Canadian provinces and to ban the sale of tobacco
products in pharmacies.
"Tobacco kills. Selling tobacco in pharmacies gives
false and dangerous credibility to cigarettes," states
Dr. Milan Khara Clinical Director of the VCH Tobacco
Dependence Clinic and member of Physicians for a
Smoke-Free Canada "Tobacco is not compatible with health
and the role of the pharmacist is not compatible with
that of tobacco vendor."
"We can no longer allow the role of the pharmacist to be
compromised by large chain stores who cannot decide if
they want to be part of the solution or part of the
problem,” said Murray Gibson, Executive Director of the
Manitoba Tobacco Reduction Alliance (MANTRA). “It
is time for legislative action to protect the integrity
of our health professionals and the health of the
public."
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada has campaigned since
the early 1990s for an end to the sale of tobacco
products in pharmacies. The first Canadian
province to adopt legislation to end this harmful
practice was Ontario, where the ban came into effect in
early 1995. In the past 15 years, New Brunswick
(1997), Quebec (1998), Nova Scotia (2000), Nunavut
(2004), Newfoundland and Labrador (2005), Prince Edward
Island 92006), Northwest Territories (2007), Alberta
(2009) and Saskatchewan (2010) have amended their laws
and practices.
In its review of Health Canada data of pharmacist
counseling of smokers, Physicians for a Smoke-Free
Canada found no support for the pharmacies’ argument
that selling cigarettes was one way to encourage smokers
to seek counseling from pharmacists about ways to quit.
During the most recent survey year (2008), tobacco was
sold in pharmacies in the four western provinces.
In those provinces where tobacco sales were permitted,
smokers were LESS likely to speak with a pharmacist
about quitting (40% vs. 52%).
“The refusal of British Columbia and Manitoba to protect
the interests of individual pharmacists and the health
of their communities and to yield to pressure from the
large chain drug stores is a black mark for government,”
said Cynthia Callard, Executive Director of Physicians
for a Smoke-Free Canada. “There is no reason but
commercial greed and political weakness to explain the
continued sale of tobacco in pharmacies in British
Columbia and Manitoba.”
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