Oshawa MP Colin Carrie waves a mini, cherry-flavoured cigar wrapped in bright pink plastic.

“Does anyone honestly think these are being marketed to adults?” he asks. “No. These are being marketed to children. And it can’t happen anymore.

Mr. Carrie and his fellow members of the House of Commons standing committee on health and safety are making it their mission to take “kiddie cigarettes”, with candy flavours and brightly coloured packaging, off the market.

Bill C-32, An Act to Amend the Tobacco Act, would prohibit tobacco manufacturers from adding fruit flavours and other tempting additives to little cigars, cigarettes and blunt wrap rolling papers, and ban those flavours from being depicted on tobacco packaging as pictures or graphics.

The bill would also create minimum package requirements for cigarellos, little cigars and blunt wraps, which, unlike conventional cigarettes, can be sold in singles or small packs of three or five. Under the new rules, they would have to be sold in packs of at least, 20, like cigarettes.

“A 12- or 13-year-old might not be able to afford $7 or $8 or $9 for a whole pack, but they could afford to buy one or maybe five,” Mr. Carrie said. “This would make it much harder for kids to afford them.”â?¨ The standing committee is inching towards approving the amendments. From there, the bill would need approval from the House and the Senate, before becoming law.

At a recent media conference, Mr. Carrie and local physician Dr. Mark Taylor, who is also vice-president of Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada, unveiled an assortment of tobacco products they believe are being marketed to children.

The spread included five-packs of flavoured cigarellos with brightly coloured tips resembling a box of markers and small cigars and blunt wraps with flavours like cotton candy, mint chocolate, peanut butter and tropical punch.

Up to 400 million units of these products were sold in Canada in 2007.

“People don’t start smoking as adults, they start smoking as children,” Dr. Taylor said. “It takes a very small amount of nicotine to addict a child for life.”

Studies indicate if a young person reaches age 20 without smoking, the likelihood of becoming a smoker is extremely low. Dr. Taylor said this statistic, combined with the fact that many adults are quitting smoking or reaching old age, means tobacco companies are rapidly losing market share and looking for the next wave of customers.

“As a parent, I was shocked to learn about how they’re doing this marketing,” Mr. Carrie said. “If a parent was looking in a knapsack, these would look like markers or crayons, they wouldn’t even know what their child was doing.”

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