And while you are at it why don't you ban cars, trucks, etc that spewed out tons of carbon monoxide and other noxious pollutants that are just as, if not more, dangerous to your health than what is put in the air by us weak-willed smokers!!! You can take all your ideas and stick them where the sun doesn't shine!

Yes. I have been smoking a pack a day for over a decade. After buying 2 packs with Barb Tarbox on them, I am ready to quit. Before now, I have never suggested I had any desire to quit, or made any attempt. I don't know if the size of the warning necessarily makes a difference, but the newer images definitely do. They provoke a powerful emotional response that the old images just failed to do. Apparently the US denied the Barb Tarbox pictures saying they were too graphic. I'm glad Canada took that chance, because it really does work.

There should be a class action lawsuit against the Government by all the smokers for taxes paid on a product they know is costing the health system Millions in incured heath cost associated with smoking. It is the government that gives the cigarette company's a license to produce and sell their product. The Government know's this product is harmful and addictive to not only the smokers health but also second hand smoke towards others. Instead they allow this because of the tax revenue it generates. They tax the one who smokes, they tax the company that produces the products and they wash there hands of any liabilty and responsibility. Is it me or is there a bigger problem here. The rich get richer and the smokers get the blame.

I don't think this is really necessary. Freedom of choice. If they want to smoke they will. If they don't then they won't. I quit cold turkey now 4 years not because of warning. I wanted to be a good example to my son and watch him grow up.

To the non smokers; I am not an idiot. You don't tell the person who is trying to lose weight that they are fat and expect that they are not going to eat. Addiction, no matter the form; are things that we all have in one form or another. Booze, sex, drugs, shopping...anything done in excess causes damage. I've seen the "new pictures"...do I find them distrubing? Yes. Will that make me quit? Perhaps. If anyone has attempted to stop doing something that they have done for years is very hard to not do. My family physician advised me that even smoking one cigrette can cause cancer and that 2nd hand smoke is just as harmful as not smoking; I was a child that grew up in a family where both my parents smoked and in my family home. The gamblers, drinkers and smokers pay for the "wonderful" (sarcastic tone) health care system we have. Think about that before you want to point out one person's decisions. You are no better then someone else for the decision not to smoke.

I quit smoking 20 years ago, after smoking many, many years. Every once in awhile, I feel as if I am missing something. I still miss having a cigarette once in awhile. Smoking is a terrible addiction.

i am a smoker every few weeks. ( i do without for weeks, sometimes months and then some social thing will get me started and i smoke until the pack i bought is gone). my husband hates it (good for him) and when he reluctantly picks some up for me after some begging, he purposely asks for the worst picture. If I was a constant smoker and had my mind set on not changing I might not care about this pics....however....they DO bother me, they DO make me stop and think.

If they even so much as make a smoker think twice and maybe there is a chance of actually quitting, then go to it and advertise those awful pictures. the more graphic the better. i hope all smokers are willing and able to try. it's an awful habit.

My aunt who never smokes died in 2001 of second hand smoking. She was hanging out with friends who smoke a lot while playing majong.

My aunt died in 2001 of second hand smoking. She was hanging out with friends who smoke a lot. Her smoker friends are still alive.

I grew up in the heaviest smoking country i think anywhere "IRELAND". I went back after 25 years ..Couldent find anyone i knew WHY?? THEY WERE ALL DEAD..I finally found one still living and she was in hospital with bad breathing problems...Smoking is a curse on humanity..Period.

SERIOUSLY!!! Do you really think that putting these graphic images on 75% of the cig packs is going deter people from smoking. Like covering 50% of the pack with disgusting pictures had such a dramatic impact....you could cover the whole damn pack with skull and cross bones and call them TUMORS and smokers would still buy them. WHY??? because it is an addiction, like alcoholism. And like any other addiction the user is the only one that can decide when it is time they quit and no amount of outside interference from government or anyone else for that matter will make them quit or seek treatment any sooner. As for all the non-smokers out there find something else in your own lives to change and leave smokers alone, they have rights contrary to what many would say

Governments are truly amazing! (extreme sarcasm) These "pictures" will make no difference at all. What would make a difference would be governments covering the cost of nicotine patches or other medical ways to help stop smoking. Governments are total hypocrits on this issue. They tax the crap out cigarettes - won't cover the meds - yet preach quitting. Go figure.

Do you people really think that smokers don't know it is dangerous to smoke?
I've had people say to me "you know it's dangerous..." I respond that it's dangerous to breathe the air in the Golden Horseshoe and ask if they drive a car...

I KNOW it's dangerous to smoke cigarettes, everbody who smokes KNOWS it's dangerous to smoke, it's really, really, really hard to quit, trust me I know, but do you really think telling me to stop is going to encourage me to stop? NO... you just piss me off and make me want to throttle you.

I hate the way or society is turning with all these self-righteous jerks trying to save my life, I know you mean well but your concern just drives smokers up a wall... MIND YOUR OWN business and I won't mind yours.

If you want me to stop, and trust me I've tried many times, then find a magic bullet pill that I can take and I'll be first in line to take it.

And to the people who think they are trying to help me... Did you know it's dangerous to drive your car and talk on the phone? did you know that it's dangerous to drink alcohol? Did you know that it's dangerous to ride a bike without a helmet? Did you know that it's dangerous to breathe the air on a freeway or at the airport? Did you know it's dangerous to constantly bug smokers about smoking?... What you really have to worry about is lead poisoning, quarter of an ounce at a time, 2200 feet per second, right between your eyes if you don't stop bugging me.

Oh, and I ride a, GASP, a motorcycle too!!

I've been smoking for about 35 years and in there I have quit a couple of times for periods up to two years. You would be hard pressed to find a smaoker that doesn't know the health risks. Changing the packaging, in my opinion, will do nothing to stop an addicted individual from buying and smoking cigarettes. Hiding the cigarette packs behind closed doors in shops won't prevent people from wanting cigs, either. Nor will it discourage people from starting smoking — everyone I knew who started smoking got their first smoke from a friend, not the store, then they went to a store and asked the shopkeeper for the friend's brand. As I said, I've quit several times and will again soon... I've already bought a new aid called Chantix and I hope it works. If the government were serious, they would make the sale of tobacco illegal and it would be out of the reach of most people. I know that when I fell off the wagon, all I had to do was to walk down the street and buy more. Not having them around at all would make quitting so much easier and there's no way that the First Nations could grow, manufacture, and distribute anything close to enough to keep the country's smokers supplied.

@Thomas (Fri, 2011-09-30 7:28am), where did you get this number, "75% of tobacco sales comes off the reserves"? Surely you're not talking 75% of sales across Canada, are you? Please provide a link to where I can read this for myself.

The government won't kill smoking for only one reason. Taxes. In 2001-2002 our Government took a staggering $5,235 billion in total Fedreal and Provincial taxes and not including the sales to minors. That estiment is at $190 million. Lets add in the $85 million in tax surcharges to the tobacco companys and you can see that the government rakes in a substantial income from Tobacco. If anyone thinks that tobacco and smoking is going to go away well I am sorry. It won't. Placing ads on tobacco packaging won't do a thing except keep the anti smoking lobbyists happy for now. If it gets to the point that the government makes it illegal to smoke then it becomes a burden on the law enforcment and criminal system. Who wins then? No taxes coming in and the courts are overburdened. http://www.smoke-free.ca/pdf_1/TOBACCOINCANADA2003.pdf . Have a look. Who wins?

I don't know why they don't just make cigarettes illegal.

Awesome...keep going and go further. Make smoking cessation products free every where in Canada...promote non-smoking at every turn - proactive not reactive health care. I just quit in January 2011 after 33 years of smokingand am loving it. How about putting short but pertinent advice from those that have recently quit on the packs! I would gladly tell my story and the difference it has made. In China they promote smoking because of the problems they have with over population...Canada is so much smarter than this - even if the government does benefit by smokers. Time for a real change and Canada could be the world leaders!!!!

It seems that no amount of scary advertising affects smokers. They don't even see it; they just rip open the package.
Why doesn't someone also target pipe tobacco? You never hear statistics for pipe smokers. They inhale too.

I used to be a cashier. Customers would buy cigarettes and put them into a sleeve so that pictures would be hidden. I had a odd request to change packages for a different one as they didn't like th picture. Most of the time the smokers just don't care. It's a bad habbit and habbits are very hard to break. To be honest it's up to the smoker to quit and they all know how bad smoking is for their health.

The only way to stop smoking 100% is to not make cigarettes. That means people lose jobs and are without and income. Then you get the under ground suppliers and they roll up the cigarettes by hand and they still smoke. This reminds me of other drugs that are illigal. The circle just continues.

smokers don't read labels nor watch stupid pictures!!! you anti-smokers, get real! don't waste time and money, get a real job!!! when are you start telling people that inhalling exhaust smoke from a car is deadly? and the government says that it is safe...

Health Canada comes up with new ideas to deter smoking...and they say that their statistics proves it works. I personally don't think it will help...people are going to smoke for whatever reason.

I don't smoke, but I think the gross images that the government intends to use, are a sin to use. You don't fight fire with fire ... it just leads to a bigger fire. I think images of non-smokers enjoying fun things not smoking and a caption saying "We don't smoke? Do you?" or something like that, might help smokers realize, "Yes ... you can have fun, and NOT SMOKE!!!"

Did they (the government) put graphic warning labels on urea-formaldhyde? DDT? 24-D? Asbestos? No...they banned these products. Not to mention a plethora of other products that were far less deadly than cigarettes.
Why is the government willing to trade thousands of lives every year for a few billion in revenue? This is something we expect from "big tobacco"; not the people we elect to protect the interests of the citizens they represent.
Let's not get into an argument over health care costs either. Tobacco tax covers that 4 times over. Passing laws (smoking bans) to protect non-smokers is political BS, to make it look the government is doing something. How about protecting smokers and future smokers...BAN THIS CRAP! PERIOD!

A'm not a smoker now I quit three year's ago,I was a heavy smoker two pack a day! I did not quit because of any health problem's I said it's time to stop and I did.So saw the that the government was going to change the graphic's on the pack's I wanted to see.When they first put them add's on it never bothered me in the least.If they wanted to clamp down on illegal cigerettes by tripling the fines on the people selling to minors and high school's.

It does not matter what you put on the packages.If a person is going to smoke they will.Besides 75% of cigarette sales come off the reserves where there is no advertising on the clear plastic bags you can buy for $10-$15 for a bag of 200.

Posting these pictures only make people smoke more. They feel bad and guilty about what they're about to do so instead of having one cigarette they might have 2 or 3. Addictions are emotionally based. People use them for stress and to escape their feelings. Cigarette companies love these advertisements because they have psychologists in their companies that know these ads do nothing to stop smoking and actually increase consumption.

Get rid of the pictures. Instead put information on how to stop smoking. 1 800 help lines and support group websites.

Sounds good in theory, but people who smoke are idiots and nothing will change their minds. It's only when they become affected by smoking and it's too late that they realize their mistake and ultimately take away beds in hospitals that should be reserved for people who didn't knowingly give themselves cancer.

I was married to a smoker,all the pleading from myself and family, fell on deaf ears
Even on his death bed his Father begged him to stop smoking, his Father died of lung cancer from years of smoking. My ex husband had brathing problems which in turn ruined our relationship, we stopped making love, if you can't breath, your love life goes down the tubes, I was so in love with him, but in the end love was not enough. You should warn all the young men out there that if they smoke , their future girlfriends or wives will end up very unhappy. Their romantic life will be over with before they are even forty, in some cases even younger.It can be a great heart break to loved ones, when a smokers health is ruined. I have lost too many people in my life to cancer becuase of cigarttes.The biggest heart ache was my husband, would not quit or even try