Health-care advocates are calling on the provincial government to finally proclaim three pieces of legislation designed to protect Alberta young people from the dangers of tobacco.
Editorial
Health-care advocates are calling on the provincial government to finally proclaim three pieces of legislation designed to protect Alberta young people from the dangers of tobacco.
Whether the hard-pressed PC government, recently rocked by the spending scandal surrounding former premier Alison Redford, will show the necessary leadership in this matter remains anyone's guess.
What is known is that if there was ever a time for competent leadership, this is it.
Spearheading the Campaign for a Smoke-free Alberta, a coalition made up of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Alberta Lung Association, Action on Smoking and Health, the Alberta Public Health Association and others, is calling for the proclamation of Bills 203, 206 and 33.
All three pieces of legislation have already passed final reading in the legislature and received royal assent. Yet the PC cabinet has so far failed to take the final step with proclamations.
"We urge the Alberta government to proclaim these bills immediately and give Alberta youth the protection they deserve from these deadly products," said Canadian Cancer Society spokesperson Angeline Webb.
"At very least the government should proclaim Bill 206 to protect youth from flavoured tobacco."
Bill 206 would ban all flavoured tobacco in Alberta, including menthol cigarettes, which the CCS says is the preferred flavour for youth smokers.
Jianna Marin, spokesperson for the Campaign for a Smoke-free Alberta, says failure to proclaim the bills creates a serious health risk for young people across the province.
"Alberta youth deserve first-class protection from tobacco," said Marin. "If fully implemented, these bills will provide such protection. There is no reason to delay these bills any longer."
The tobacco industry may be having a hand in delaying the bills' proclamation, with more than 20 lobbyists currently working toward that goal, the coalition says.
"Tobacco companies should not be allowed to dictate children's health," said Marin.
Matthew Grant, spokesperson for Alberta Health, told this newspaper that the plan is to have all three bills proclaimed by the provincial government this fall.
Alberta MLAs have come up with three very good pieces of legislation that if implemented will go a long way toward protecting the province's young people from the dangers of tobacco use.
While former premier Alison Redford consistently showed anything but solid leadership – in fact making an out-and-out mockery of her high office – current premier Dave Hancock and the new PC leader could mend a lot of fences by finally making these bills the law of the land.
