With the Ontario government’s move to outlaw smoking in cars with passengers under the age of 16 having come into effect Jan. 21, it’s time to take a good, hard look at the next possible steps.
The time has come to consider what was once unthinkable – the outright ban on smoking in Canada.
This idea is not as far-fetched as it may seem at first blush. But for all the health and economic benefits a ban on smoking would produce, virtually no government would ever enact such a ban. Why? Because the negative effect on its tax revenues would be nothing short of disastrous.
The health benefits of quitting smoking, in effect, a personal smoking ban, are well known. Almost immediately after that last cigarette or cigar, the person’s blood pressure begins to drop, as does the pulse rate. Within one day of not smoking, the risk of a heart attack begins to decrease.
But it is the personal and social economic expenditures smoking entails that make a ban most worthwhile. With a pack of cigarettes selling for roughly $8, a pack-a-day smoker is paying almost $60 a week to support his or her habit. After smoking for 40 years, this totals over $115,000. This is money that could be better spent elsewhere, or saved for more valuable pursuits.
Add to that the socio- economic cost. Some estimates put the total social cost related to smoking in excess of $11 billion per year. Yes. Billion. This number is composed of $3 billion for health-care costs, and $8 billion in lost productivity.
This is money that could be given myriad uses other than caring, and accounting, for people who willfully damage their lives.
A complete and unconditional ban on smoking would go a long way toward benefiting the greater good of Canadian society.
Alas, this day is unlikely ever to dawn. Tobacco tax revenue is one of the greatest sources of government income in Canada. In the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the total tax revenue from tobacco products in Canada was $6.8 billion.
This is the number that shows how hypocritical Canadian governments are.
On the one hand they seek to curtail smoking, through bans on smoking in public and in cars. On the other, tobacco taxes provide a large portion of government revenue.
But this is where all governments can show where their true interests lie. We are at the point where governments should take the initiate to improve their citizens’ lives and pocketbooks.
Outlawing smoking in Canada could effectively be a no-loss endeavour for all governments. The loss of tax revenue would be offset by the health-care costs that would not have to be paid out.
Furthermore, in these tougher economic times, any way to help people not spend beyond their means should be seen as welcome assistance.
And where better to start than a pointless – and filthy – habit that benefits no one but the multinational tobacco industry?