Cigarette makers have said the timeline for new federal regulations that will see cigarettes sold in standardised ‘slide and shell’ format packs is ambitious and “nearly impossible” to comply with in time, CBC/Radio-Canada reported.

Mandated by Health Canada and set to take effect in the next twelve months, the regulations will see a raft of changes to tobacco packaging. They will strip packaging of logos and set matte, dark brown as the colour for all packs. Thin and slim packs will be banned under the regulations, as will cigarettes longer than 100 mm and the use of decorative elements on cigarette tipping paper. Manufacturers will have to revert to a ‘slide and shell’ pack format, a specification that the industry says will be logistically difficult for to comply with in time, the broadcaster reported.
Peter Luongo, managing director of cigarette maker Rothman, Benson & Hedges, commented that the timeline will be difficult to meet, and Eric Gagnon, director of regulatory affairs at Imperial Tobacco, said the company was “shocked and confused by the new regulations” that would see the industry using a pack format almost exclusively used by producers of contraband product.
“Everyone is aware of the health risks and cigarettes are already hidden from public view,” […] "A small but vocal group of extremists [has] taken over the regulations process without considering the negative impact these measures could have," Gagnon as quoted as saying.
Luongo said Imperial’s "biggest concern is that they're requiring us to use standardised slide and shell packaging on an extremely aggressive timeline which might just be logistically difficult for the industry to implement and could result in disruptions in the marketplace”, the broadcaster reported.
The Canadian Cancer Society said the proposed regulations are the "world's best" for plain packaging, CBC/Radio-Canada reported.

A 75-day consultation period on the proposed regulations will close on 6 September. Comment can be made here: https://goo.gl/LXV7cP