Across Native Cigarettes Canada, indigenous communities are selling their own cigarettes, manufactured on reserves and sold as “native smokes.” Using data from the Youth Smoking Survey (YSS), this study found that smokers who reported purchasing their cigarettes from a First Nations reserve did so at significantly lower prices than those who purchased their cigarettes elsewhere. It is important to note that these pricing differences are due primarily to variances in taxation and regulations and may change over time as agreements between local governments and Indigenous communities evolve.

The reason for this pricing discrepancy is that Indigenous communities can produce tobacco products without paying federal and provincial taxes, so their cigarettes are typically priced less than mainstream commercial brands that include those taxes in their prices. Moreover, some Indigenous communities may also operate at lower overhead costs.

Exploring Native Cigarettes in Canada: Brands, Availability, and Legal Considerations

Those lower costs have driven an explosion of native cigarette sales, with shacks sprunging up along roadsides and in village centres on most reserves. The smoke shacks offer packs of home-made native smokes at a quarter the price of big-brand commercial cigarettes. The business is booming, and some of the young entrepreneurs behind these operations say they see it as a path to prosperity that could help them avoid the temptations of smuggling or illegal gambling. Others worry that the trade is at odds with Aboriginal values and long-term community development. Government officials in Toronto cite health concerns and the potential for minors to buy untaxed cigarettes as their main reasons for cracking down on the business.

Native Cigarettes Canada
Phone: +15198579349