Massive tobacco settlement at risk of being misused

Posted on December 10, 2024 in Health Debates

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TheStar.com – Opinion/Contributors
Dec. 10, 2024.   By Jessica Buckley and Christopher Lam Contributors

For every $100 the provinces collect in taxes on the sale of tobacco, it costs $300 in direct health care costs due to the harms of nicotine addiction and smoking.

On Thursday, Canadian creditors will vote on the landmark Big Tobacco settlement of $32.5 billion proposed by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. At first glance, this might seem like a victory in the fight against an industry responsible for decades of harm. But beneath the headline figure lies a sobering reality: most of this money — $24.7 billion — would be handed to provinces and territories with no strings attached.

Without direction, provinces are free to use these funds for anything. Meanwhile, millions of Canadians living with chronic lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and other illnesses caused by smoking and vaping, will continue to face inadequate support. The settlement’s vagueness is not just a missed opportunity — it’s a tragedy in the making for the 1-in-5 Canadians who struggle to breathe.

As founding members of the National Lung Health Alliance, representing Canada’s most powerful patient advocacy network for lung health, we urge federal and provincial leaders to act with purpose, accountability, fiduciary responsibility, and transparency. This settlement represents a rare chance to redress decades of harm caused by tobacco, but only if provinces use the funds wisely.

As the settlement is deliberated over the coming weeks, we want to remain optimistic that legislators will do right by the lung health of Canadians past, present and future. They could be the heroes in this settlement.

Consider this simple math: For every $100 the provinces collect in taxes on the sale of tobacco, it costs $300 in direct health care costs due to the harms of nicotine addiction and smoking.

The tobacco industry costs Canadians $12 billion annually on health care along with the economic costs of lost productivity. Ontario alone spends an estimated $7 billion a year to deal with the harm of nicotine addiction. Tobacco-related illnesses account for nearly half of all health care costs from substance use.

Yet the $24.7 billion earmarked for provinces in this settlement doesn’t come with a mandate to fund programs that directly address and prevent tobacco-related harm. Imagine the transformative impact if even a fraction of this sum was directed toward smoking cessation programs, addiction and mental health supports, and other topline resources to help people quit — or to never start at all.

The settlement provides financial restitution to class-action claimants and allocates funds to a vaguely defined research foundation. But where are the funds for front-line solutions?  There is no mandate for cessation or prevention programs, no mention of the vaping crisis, and ultimately no true accountability for Big Tobacco’s ongoing harm.

Canada’s provinces are at a crossroads. This settlement could either be a Band-Aid on a hemorrhaging wound or a catalyst for meaningful change. To ensure the latter, provinces must direct funds toward lung health programs, tax all nicotine products, close gaps in vaping regulation, and institute ongoing cost-recovery fees.

The provinces must rise to the occasion, ensuring that the funds are allocated where they’re needed most: to education, prevention, and treatment programs that advance lung health.

Canada needs to be bold and think of future solutions. A “Smoke-Free Generation” hangs in the balance. Perhaps, we consider options such as banning the sale of tobacco and nicotine (vaping) products to anyone born on or after a specific year. The goal is to eliminate the devastating health effects of tobacco and nicotine products from future generations.

The adoption of a Smoke-Free Generation policy in Canada would represent the largest victory in public health, protect future generations from immense harm and ultimately instil hope that we could declare tobacco and nicotine dependency a last century phenomenon. Provinces, the ball is in your court. Let’s not let Canada’s biggest tobacco settlement go up in smoke.

Jessica Buckley is president & CEO of Lung Health Foundation. Christopher Lam is president & CEO of B.C. Lung Foundation. 

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/massive-tobacco-settlement-at-risk-of-being-misused/article_a2b3dea8-b648-11ef-8341-dbcb73e5ef5f.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a11&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=0C810E7AE4E7C3CEB3816076F6F9881B&utm_campaign=top_6461

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