I agree that liquor does more harm than cigarettes and should fall under the same scrutiny and standards as cigarettes. Fact is that people would still buy either product even if they were sold in a plain paper bag. People will go out of their way to buy the products even if they were to become illegal. Health warnings on the products have little merit to the addicted. There is only so far the government can go in regulating these products. Look at the lessons learned from Prohibition. The rise of crime would flourish. Study the history of marijuana and you will see the circle of life it has taken. Gambling is also a no-brainer. Stupidity flourishes. Course if you wrap it all up in a pretty package somebody may buy more of it!

Someone getting hooked in cigarettes 30 years agos I can understand, they might not have known. But these days, with the information and warnings that are available and RIGHT ON THE PACKAGE! Anyone that thinks smoking a cigarette out of a pink or white box is safer then one out of a black box should be a pre-approved runner-up for the future Darwin Awards!

Letting "stupid" people die sooner isn't the most "morally sound" viewpoint. If you can't look past that point what about all the tax dollars used to treat tobacco related illness. In 2002, tobacco related illness cost $4.5 billion dollars for hospital care, doctor visits and drug costs.(2005 Physicians For a Smoke Free Canada). I can only imagine how big this number will balloon over tne next few years as health care costs continue to rise. These numbers don't even begin to address the economic losses related to loss of employment for the smoker and their families. How many people do you know that have lost their life way too soon from smoking?? It is crucial for us to prevent one of the greatest public health perils. 45,000 people die every year due to tobacco related illnees. That's a 130 a day. A 130 too many.

We need to have a total BAN on all cigarette consumption and charge anyone under the criminal code if they smoke even one cigarette. If we've banned leaded gasonline, DDT, MBTE, Bisphenol A, pitbulls in Ontario then we can do it for cigarettes. Try it!

Right now, the world population is around 6 billion and change, and the tobacco companies are doing us a favor by controlling the population. After all, the people that they kill are the stupid ones and we don't want stupid people to live with us right? With all the government regulations, restrictions, and warnings these people still decided to smoke so let them smoke, it's a free country. If they decided that they don't want to live a healthy life then let them die, we don't want stupid people to be our next door neighbour/co-worker and give us second hand smoke.

love your shows....bought weight watchers 'smart ones' after bring home looked at the sodium content 32% immediately threw it in trash i have hbp and do not need this garbage also 'hungry man'59% sodium what is the gov doing about this i know i will never buy anything again without looking at the sodium and fructos in the packaging thank you for all your wonderful programs should be one hour
keep up the good work marie

I switched to "light" brands early on. Not super light ones with the holes in the filters that are like sucking air - my lips were covering the holes half the time anyway.

One day, I noticed (with a magnifying glass) that the brand I was smoking also had a ring of minute holes around the filter. This meant that I was covering the holes in the filter with my wet lips, so I was ingesting far more toxins than the numbers on the package indicated.

If they're going to have these micro-holes to make the cigarettes lighter, they should put some instructions on the label. How was I to know there were holes, and to be careful not to cover them with my lips?

This is a dirty secret that must be exposed. Look at a "duMarier Prestige" filter with a magnifying glass and you'll see. I'll bet most people are unaware of this and cover the holes too.

Class-action suit?

Apparently it’s ok to have liquor in plain sight but for heaven sakes hide the smokes, we don’t want to influence a drunk to become a smoker.

I'd say what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Let's start putting images of car wrecks, women with black eyes and children with bruises from intoxicated husbands and boy friends on beer boxes and liquor bottles…oooh!!! Pardon me, that’s not politically correct.

Regarding Joan's comment:

Anything in excess is bad for you and will inevitably harm your health. You were just too weak to resist your addiction and are bitter about it now. Commenting on this website against tobacco companies just confirms you do not have the will to fight the "enemy" anyway. Tobacco companies in Canada also provide over 8 Billion in tax revenue to the health system, sounds more like a government partner then foe.

Regarding Spencer's stated sympathy for cigarette companies:
Was it freedom of choice when I, a 12 year old in 1964, suddenly realized that I was addicted to cigarettes after a few times of smoking with my friends? In those days there were no restrictions on advertising, and the tobacco companies deliberately obfuscated the facts that they themselves had gleaned from their own research. I agree that we need more education, but we must be aware that our enemy (big tobacco) is equipped with sophisticated manipulative machinery and endless cash so we will need to pay handsomely for adquate education to counteract such a public health foe. Wouldn't regulating the industry be cheaper and more effective?

Another one sided view. If it is a legal product, then let it be. Target the poor management of government funds instead...as it is just as criminal.

I really don't understand why tobacco is getting hit so hard. As long as people are educated about the risks, I think that they are really the only ones to blame. Making the product appealing is done by all companies. It is done for video games, its done for gum, its done for alcohol and those are all considered fine, but when tobacco companies do it it is somehow bad? No other industry has to put up with this. some products like alcohol kill countless people as well. We should be educating smokers and letting them decide, not slapping cigarette companies with unnecessary regulations. If people choose to smoke knowing that they will probably get cancer from it later in life then I dont know why companies are always getting blamed.