MONTREAL - Anti-smoking groups in Quebec are targeting a trendy type of smoke that is becoming popular among young people.
Activists against tobacco use say the industry is exploiting a loophole in the law to sell low-priced cigarillos that largely fall outside laws aimed at curbing cigarette use.
The cigarillos are treated like cigars and can be sold individually or in small packs, allowing them to be priced cheaply.
The anti-smoking groups called on the province today to close the loophole and have cigarillos fall under the same law as cigarettes.
The brown-papered cigarillos do not carry the health warnings mandatory on cigarettes and are often sold with fruity flavours in brightly coloured packages of five or six that often resemble a box of candy.
Statistics recently compiled in Quebec showed a decline in cigarette smoking among young people, while cigarillo use rose sharply.
