OTTAWA — New anti-smoking warnings on cigarette packs, to be announced by the federal government Thursday, will feature images of an iconic Canadian cancer victim and cover a full three-quarters of the packages’ surface, Postmedia News has learned.
The significant increase in the size of the often-stark ads comes after opposition MPs on the House of Commons health committee recently threw their weight behind a long-standing movement to bump up the mandatory ads from the current level of half the packs’ surface panel.
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq was to unveil the new ads, some of which will feature pictures of Barb Tarbox, who died in 2003 of cancer but who became famous before her death for her high-profile crusade to persuade young people to not smoke.
Aglukkaq ’s announcement is timed to encourage smokers to make a new year’s resolution to kick the habit, an official said.
The new ads also will feature a toll-free number for a national helpline for smokers and a website for more information.
Images of Tarbox at a palliative care facility have already been shortlisted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use on its new cigarette-package warnings. A final decision on using her image in the United States will be made in 2011.