Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In making general comments, I would like to indicate that I very strongly support measures to keep the cost of tobacco as high as possible purely for health reasons. Given the studies which have confirmed the relationship between the cost of tobacco and consumption, especially for teenagers, it's very important that we get the price back up to where it was before the federal government and some of the provinces cut their taxes and prices. Mr. Chairman, the cost for health care resulting from tobacco consumption is way too high. Based on national estimates, it would appear that health care expenditures on smoking-related illnesses are about $1500 per year, per smoker. If you carry those figures forward for the Northwest Territories that would indicate that our annual health care costs for smoking related illnesses would be somewhere in the area of $45 million. This is way more than what we will collect even with the expanded taxes proposed by this bill. Given the relationship between the cost of tobacco and consumption, if we don't increase taxes as proposed in this bill, the increase in the number of smokers resulting from lower costs could increase the cost of health care in the NWT by $3 to $6 million a year.

Mr. Chairman, the Department of Health stated in 1990 that most lung cancers, which account for over one-quarter of all cancers in the Northwest Territories, are caused by smoking. They pointed out that in the NWT, the incidence of men and women smoking is much higher than it is in the rest of Canada. The Department of Health also pointed out that comparatively speaking, NWT men had an incidence of lung cancer that was 50 per cent higher than the rest of Canada and women, an incidence nearly four times as high as the rest of Canada. Mr. Chairman, the human and financial costs to health caused by smoking simply must be addressed. Raising the price of tobacco back to about the level it was at before the federal government and some provinces cut taxes is just a small step in what I see as an essential process.

As the Minister has pointed out, there is not much point in just increasing the cost unless we also can deal with smuggling. I support the improved enforcement aspects of this act. I think they are very important. I think the current act is almost impossible to enforce. One area that the proposed act also clears up is one that needs attention and that is where under our current act it is right now an offence to return to the NWT from a trip outside with even one cigarette unless you provide the invoice for that cigarette to the Minister of Finance and pay the taxes. This new act will allow people to bring back a small amount of tobacco for their personal use without being required to declare that fact and pay the tax. I think this is much more realistic than what our current situation is.

Mr. Chairman, I think the bottom line is that we have to do more. We have to put more effort into developing campaigns to convince people not to smoke. We have to be willing to put the money and resources into programs to cut down on smoking and especially cut down on, or try and cut back on the number of young people starting to smoke. As I said, Mr. Chairman, I see this bill as just one small step in that process but it's one that has to be supported. I will be supporting this bill and I hope that other Members will support the provisions in this bill as well. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

---Applause