B.C. CIGARETTE PACKAGES MAY GET NEW LOOK
By Adnews Staff
Smokers in British Columbia may soon find out exactly what they're inhaling. B.C. Health Minister Joy MacPhail plans to introduce legislation in the spring that would require all cigarette packages to list all of the known poisons and hazards contained in the cigarettes. The proposed legislation goes beyond the warnings Ottawa requires. Under federal legislation, Canadian-made cigarette packages must devote one-third of the main panels to one of several health warnings dictated by the Health Department. Ottawa also requires a brief list of toxic ingredients such as tar, nicotine and carbon dioxide. MacPhail says a scientist has identified 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes, but it is not known how many of them would have to be listed on the cigarette packages. The Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council says there are no additives in Canadian-made cigarettes