NNSW2026: Public Health, Not Industry Narratives

This National Non-Smoking Week (18-24 January 2026), we honour decades of collective effort in Canada to reduce smoking and protect people’s health. National Non-Smoking Week remains a key moment to educate, support cessation, and reaffirm our commitment to a healthier, smoke-free future for all.

Tobacco use continues to be one of the leading preventable causes of disease and death in Canada. While significant progress has been made, ongoing vigilance is essential—especially as industries that profit from harmful products increasingly appropriate the language of harm reduction to market new nicotine and vaping products in ways that can mislead the public and undermine proven public health strategies.

Public health-led harm reduction is grounded in evidence and focused on reducing risk and supporting people who use nicotine to access effective cessation and support services. It is not a marketing strategy for industry profit. CPHA calls on governments, health professionals, community partners, and all levels of society to critically assess claims about products that are sometimes presented as “harm-reduced” and to foreground evidence that protects health, particularly for youth and people who face structural disadvantage.

As a collaborator in SmokeFreeConnect, CPHA supports this national platform that provides reliable information and tools for people seeking to quit commercial tobacco and nicotine products and for those working to create supportive, smoke-free environments. SmokeFreeConnect exemplifies how evidence-based resources, grounded in public health expertise, can empower individuals and communities in their quit journeys.

National Non-Smoking Week is an opportunity to uplift public health evidence, resist commercial influence that clouds understanding, and reaffirm our shared goal: a Canada where fewer people start smoking, more people who smoke are supported to quit, and all Canadians can breathe clean air.