AUGUST 28, 2025

Where’s the Commitment? Provincial Silence on Big Tobacco Payouts Leaves Canadians Wondering if Lung Health Will be Left Behind, Says National Lung Health Alliance

NLHA: “For decades, lung health charities have shouldered the responsibility of caring for Canadians with tobacco-related disease”

Toronto, ON, August 28, 2025 – On August 29, the provinces and territories will receive their initial share of funds from Canada’s historic $32.5 billion Big Tobacco Settlement. This milestone transfer marks the beginning of annual payments that will follow mid-year in 2026. The National Lung Health Alliance (NLHA) is calling on provincial and territorial governments to commit these funds directly to addressing the devastating toll of tobacco and nicotine addiction, rather than depositing them into general revenues. According to NLHA’s tracking, all, or nearly all provinces, including Ontario, have indicated that settlement funds will be deposited into general revenues. While some governments note that general revenues support healthcare broadly, no province has designated or committed these funds specifically to tobacco-related harm. In Ontario, there has been no public response at all.

Provinces Have a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity to Stop Tobacco Harm

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to stop the harm caused by tobacco,” says Jessica Buckley, President & CEO of Lung Health Foundation which spearheads NLHA’s countrywide advocacy efforts.  “For decades, lung health charities have shouldered the responsibility of caring for Canadians with tobacco-related disease. If these funds are not reinvested in prevention, treatment, and care, millions will continue to suffer, and we will be right back where we started when the harms of vaping and nicotine dependence reach their peak.” All members of NLHA represent Canadians whose lives have been directly impacted by tobacco harm. For many, tobacco use is a risk factor for their lung conditions. For others, the lasting stigma tied to smoking makes an already difficult health journey even harder. People living with chronic lung disease too often carry guilt about their diagnosis, hesitate to seek medical advice, or face discrimination because of their condition. “Directing tobacco settlement funds toward lung health is not only about prevention and care; it’s about addressing stigma, restoring dignity and ensuring no Canadian is left behind in the fight against lung disease,” Buckley says.  

All Provinces Must Act Now 

Ontario is poised to receive approximately $7.1 billion from the Big Tobacco settlement, but this one-time payment is only the beginning, Buckley stresses. “NLHA, along with the Lung Health Foundation is calling on all provincial governments to immediately direct these funds into high-impact lung health investments, specifically into prevention initiatives that deter youth nicotine addiction, early screening and diagnosis programs for lung cancer and COPD, and comprehensive care and support for individuals living with tobacco-related lung conditions.” Without such targeted measures, she warns the settlement “risks becoming a missed opportunity; a chance to not only address the ongoing direct costs of tobacco use, but also to strengthen long-term resilience in respiratory health, reduce hospital burden, and ensure Canadians remain healthy and productive, rather than allowing the health system to absorb escalating costs while individuals and their families are left with limited support.[MR2] ” If settlement monies are not dedicated to tobacco-related harm, the burden will continue to fall on lung health charities to bridge the gap. Over two million Canadians live with COPD, with another million undiagnosed, and one in four Canadians is expected to develop COPD in their lifetime. Last year alone, 32,100 Canadians were diagnosed with lung cancer and 20,700 died. “It is time to act. We owe it to the Canadians who have lost loved ones to tobacco-related harm, and we owe it to the next generation,” adds Buckley.  “We know better, and we can do better.”

About The National Lung Health Alliance:

The National Lung Health Alliance (NLHA) is Canada’s leading advocacy network for lung health. Led by the Lung Health Foundation, the alliance includes several organizations: BC Lung Foundation, Alberta Lung, Lung Saskatchewan, Association Pulmonaire du Quebec, NB Lung/Poumon NB, LungNSPEI, Lung Cancer Canada, Asthma Canada and COPD Canada.

National Lung Health Alliance member organizations are currently working together to advance specific requests at the federal level based on collective decision making. Its mission focuses on three key areas: Youth vaping: Advocating for a Nicotine-Free Generation; Chronic lung disease: Improving diagnostics and support care for Canadians living with chronic lung conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung cancer; and Air quality: Reducing radon exposure and promoting healthier homes

AUGUST 27, 2025

"Let's be clear. Current and future smokers are the ones who will be generating revenues that will enable tobacco companies to pay provincial governments. The outcome of the flawed settlement is largely contingent on continued cigarette sales. Provincial governments should eliminate the apparent conflict of interest between potential revenues and public health arising from the terms of the settlement, and make it clear to their citizens where their priorities lie,"  Les Hagen, Executive Director of ASH Canada. 

MONTREAL and EDMONTON, AB, Aug. 27, 2025 /CNW/ - Now that the court is about to sign off on the CCAA (Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act) tobacco litigation proceedings, enabling payments to the industry's creditors and victims, Action on Smoking & Health (ASH Canada) and the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control are calling on provincial and territorial governments to mitigate the major flaws of the agreement.

Provincial and territorial governments failed to secure the prevention of more harm in the final agreement with the tobacco companies. Specifically, health groups are urging governments to modernize their tobacco control strategies with bold forward-looking measure to prevent more harm and to adequately fund such efforts with a small portion of the settlement proceeds. Options include banning all remaining commercial inducements towards smoking and vaping, price controls, licensing for all stages in the commercialization process, banning online and interprovincial sales, limiting retail density, improving smoking cessation coverage, etc.

Settlement void of remedial measures

"The settlement negotiated by the provinces contains no remedial actions to counter the ongoing harm to victims and additional demands on the health care system resulting from these companies' products," says Flory Doucas, Codirector and spokesperson of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control. In sharp contrast, the 1998 US Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement included several remedial actions, such as a national ban on tobacco sponsorships and outdoor advertising, restrictions on tobacco sales to minors, stronger cigarette warnings and the establishment of a US$365 million national tobacco control "Truth Initiative", that allowed for meaningful prevention advocacy and industry denormalization – items that the Canadian settlement explicitly excluded.

"There is no industry restructuring to curb the sale of their deadly products, no measures to curtail the industry's ability to recruit more customers, and no funds to help smokers quit. The tobacco settlement effectively allows tobacco companies to continue in a 'business as usual' manner without any restrictions on their operations," she adds.

Action needed to mitigate pro-industry settlement

"Now that the negotiations are over and cash payments are commencing, the ball is squarely in the court of the provincial and territorial governments to remedy the flawed settlement. Provinces and territories should revamp their tobacco reduction strategies with bold new smoking and vaping reduction measures," says Les Hagen, Executive Director of ASH Canada. "Most provincial antitobacco strategies have faced significant cutbacks in the past 10-15 years, impeding renewed efforts to reduce and prevent tobacco use. The settlement will not prevent future victims - unless provincial governments adopt stronger tobacco reduction measures and fund those efforts adequately."