In this bill, there is a little goodie for the ecologists on the subject of energy transition, but the rest of the provisions are so favourable to the industry that one might believe that an industry lobbyist wrote it. Agnotology is to actively promote ignorance in order to promote one's product.

This summer, the Canadian government conducted a three-month public consultation to review a potential law that would mandate plain-packaged cigarettes. The law would effectively ban corporate branding on cigarette packages. Now, the government appears poised to move ahead with the proposed law. Just as inevitably, Big Tobacco has begun to litter our newspapers, magazines and various electronic screens with print, online and video advertisements attacking the legislation.

Given the very real health concerns linked to obesity, it is unfortunate that aspartame, which can help decrease sugar intake, should be the subject of decades of misinformation. A similar issue has emerged around another less harmful alternative to a product far deadlier than soda: vapour products that replace lethal cigarettes.

Smoking cigarettes doubles the risk of changes in the lens of your eye, resulting in cataracts... It triples the risk of age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness over 65 years old. And it also increases the risk of glaucoma, another leading risk of blindness.

Restrictions implemented in Australia have resulted in no meaningful decrease in already downwardly trending tobacco consumption rates -- and virtually no impact whatsoever in youth consumption rates in particular. Can Canada expect plain packaging regulation to offer any real improvements to smoking rates?

It is important to know that unlike other types of cancers, lung cancer doesn't show symptoms until in much later stages. This means that by the time an individual begins to notice changes to his or her health, the cancer has significantly advanced, often making treatment more complex. However, there is still hope.