Opinion: The Maldives just showed us how to save 48,000 Canadian lives every year

Each January, millions of Canadians set New Year’s resolutions to improve their physical and mental health. For many, that means trying once again to quit smoking or vaping. The intentions are good, but the struggle to quit an addictive substance is real. Tobacco addiction remains one of the leading causes of preventable disease and death in Canada, and for too long we have treated this as an individual challenge rather than a national policy issue.

The Maldives, a tropical nation in the Indian Ocean, has recently offered the world a bold and inspiring example, and it’s something Canada should be paying attention to. The country implemented a world-first policy banning the sale, purchase, and use of tobacco products for anyone born on or after January 1st, 2007. It is not just a public health policy; it is a generational commitment. The Maldives is aiming to raise an entirely tobacco-free generation.

This is the kind of visionary thinking Canada needs.

Here’s our reality: 48,000 Canadians die from tobacco use every year. That’s 125 people a day – more than alcohol, opioids, suicides, murders, and car crashes combined. Tobacco causes roughly 72 percent of lung cancer cases and 80-90 percent of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cases annually. The direct healthcare costs hit $5.4 billion in 2020, and total economic costs reached $11.5 billion when you add in lost productivity and premature death.

Canada recently secured a $32.5 billion settlement from major tobacco companies after decades of litigation — a headline that sounds like a clear victory. But the reality is more complicated. The funds will be paid out over 20 years, with no conditions on how provinces use the money and no requirement to reinvest in tobacco cessation programs or tobacco control. At the same time, the companies involved continue to operate, and tobacco use still claims the lives of Canadians each year.

The challenge is that we continue to frame tobacco use primarily as a matter of individual choice. While we invest in cessation programs, which are important and necessary, we do very little to prevent the next generation from picking up the habit in the first place. Vaping rates among Canada’s youth are some of the highest in the world.  These Canadians, now addicted to nicotine, are 3.5 times more likely to smoke tobacco in the future.  It’s akin to bailing water from a sinking boat without ever patching the hole.

The Maldives offers a different perspective. Their government recognizes what many others have missed: you can’t end a public health epidemic by treating one person at a time. You must address the source. Their generational tobacco ban doesn’t criminalize current smokers or impose overnight prohibition. It simply draws a line for future generations, saying: you won’t have to fight this battle at all.

Some may dismiss this as unrealistic for a country as large and diverse as Canada. But bold leadership is not about waiting for perfect conditions. It is about setting a direction and moving toward it with courage and care. We have the public health infrastructure. We have strong provincial and federal frameworks that could support a generational tobacco strategy. What we need now is political will.

What if Canada made a similar commitment as we begin this new year? Imagine the impact if our government made a resolution not just to reduce tobacco use, but to end it for future generations. Let 2026 be the year we stop treating tobacco as a normal part of life and start building a future where fewer Canadians than ever must face this struggle. Not to punish current smokers, but to protect children who aren’t old enough yet to be targeted by an industry whose entire business model depends on creating lifelong addicts. We would break the cycle that’s killed millions of Canadians and cost our healthcare system hundreds of billions.

The political will exists, if we decide to find it. Our courts just recognized the tobacco industry’s culpability to the tune of $32.5 billion (barely enough to cover tobacco related illness costs for three years).  What about the next 25?  Our federal and provincial governments need to act. Please stop accepting 48,000 deaths a year as normal. Please stop asking individuals to beat an industry by themselves.

The Maldives just showed us how, with a fraction of our resources. The question isn’t whether Canada can do this. It’s whether we’re willing to try.