Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council

The Canadian Tobacco Manufacturer's Council (CTMC) is a trade and lobbying group for cigarette companies in Canada similar to the Tobacco Institute in the U.S. (The Tobacco Institute was disbanded as a term of the 1998 American Master Settlement Agreement). CTMC's membership is made up of four major Canadian cigarette manufacturers: Imperial Tobacco Canada (a subsidiary of British American Tobacco), Rothmans Tobacco, Benson and Hedges, Inc., and Japan Tobacco Inc.-Macdonald. CTMC fights anti-smoking legislation in Canada.

Strategies and Programs
CTMC supports and funds a youth smoking prevention program called Operation I.D. that aims to eliminate underage tobacco access. CTMC also funds a group called the Fair Air Association, that promotes ventilation rather than the institution of public smoking restrictions as a means of solving indoor problems with secondhand tobacco smoke, a standard tobacco industry tactic. The Canadian Tobacco Manufacturer's Council also financially supports an online smokers rights group called mychoice.ca that opposes smoking restrictions.

In 1978, CTMC's official position was that smoking did not cause disease.

When pressured by public attention to the issue of youth smoking, CTMC adopted voluntary measures regarding marketing to youth to stave off further regulation of the tobacco industry in Canada.

Contact
Catheryn Doyle Imperial Tobacco Canada (514) 932-6161 Ext. 2113

Karen Bodirsky Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Inc. (416) 442-3660 Cell (416) 671-7579

David McCullagh JTI-Macdonald Corp. (905) 804-7345