Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations

The Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations outline the requirements for the appearance, dimensions, contents, and packaging of tobacco products in Canada.

These regulations apply to every tobacco product intended for retail sale in Canada, as well as packages that contain such products. They cover various aspects, including package shape, interior and exterior surfaces, finishes, textures, features, alphanumeric codes, bar codes, and means of electronic communication.

The regulations require that primary packages contain only a tobacco product, a lining, and a leaflet. Secondary packages must have a standardized physical design feature - a rectangular cuboid shape with six surfaces meeting at right angles and straight edges without any rounding or bevelling.

Interior and exterior surfaces of primary and secondary packages must meet specific requirements, including drab brown color, matte finish, smooth texture, no features that change appearance or surface area, and no means of electronic communication. Alphanumeric codes may be displayed on packages if they are printed in a regular weight and width font style without italics and in black or gray.

The regulations also cover bar codes, which must be rectangular, image-free, and no larger than 40 mm by 20 mm in size, and displays alphanumeric code on only one exterior surface of the top, bottom, or any side of the package.

These Regulations set out the requirements that manufacturers of tobacco products must meet in respect of the plain and standardized appearance, shape and content of tobacco product packages, as well as standards for labelling.