In Alberta, anti-tobacco advocates welcomed the increase in the tax on tobacco products planned by the provincial government in its 2024 budget.

The government of a Prairie province in central Western Canada intends to increase the tobacco tax by 2.5 cents per cigarette, and also plans to impose a new tax on vaping products.

Finance Minister Nate Horner described smoking and e-cigarette use as serious public health issues because they cause significant harm to many Alberta residents.

Young woman Raine McIver (21 years old) smoked her first cigarette three years ago, imitating her peers. She is looking to quit this habit and believes that the upcoming increase in cigarette prices will help her do so sooner. The young woman says: "Now when I want to buy cigarettes, I think about the cost, and this helps me refrain from buying them."

However, she realizes that the task will be more difficult for those who do not want to reduce or stop smoking.

Anti-smoking advocates say that Alberta residents like Raine McIver can quit smoking.

For his part, Les Hagen, the executive director of the anti-smoking organization (ASH Canada) based in Edmonton, which campaigns against smoking, believes that the planned increase in the tobacco tax would keep youth away from both regular and electronic cigarettes. The spokesperson condemned what he described as the "e-cigarette epidemic" that teenagers are addicted to.

According to the anti-smoking organization’s director, nearly 40,000 school youth in Alberta use vaping products. This is a big problem that needs to be addressed, and perhaps the tax increase on those goods is a key element in tackling it.

Meanwhile, Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society, expresses his belief that increasing taxes on tobacco and vaping products would reduce smoking among youth. Young people are especially affected by tax increases. Therefore, this increase is a very good thing to ensure and protect their health.

In this context, Hagen says he wished the measure had been implemented earlier than expected. He explains: "They intend to apply this tax starting from January of next year, while they could have done it in July of this year."