Big Tobacco urges Canada to ensure legal nicotine competitive with black market
MONTREAL — If the price of legal marijuana must be competitive with the black market in order to discourage underground sales, then the same logic should apply to nicotine, the head of Imperial Tobacco Canada said Thursday.
Governments across Canada are preparing for marijuana’s legalization in 2018 and are creating legislative frameworks to regulate the industry.
Bill Blair, the federal MP tasked with leading the drug’s legalization in Canada, has said the provinces generally agree legal marijuana should cost roughly the same or lower than what can be found on the street.
That same rationale should apply to nicotine products, said Imperial Tobacco’s Jorge Araya.