Stand with over half a million Canadian health professionals to stop fossil fuel advertising.
Fossil fuel air pollution causes up to 34,000 premature deaths in Canada each year. Just like the tobacco industry, fossil fuel companies are still lying to us about the known dangers of their products.

How fossil fuel ads make us sick

Fossil fuel ads fail to inform us about the known health and environmental hazards of their products.

By not disclosing such dangers, fossil fuel companies put lives at risk. Natural gas utilities tout gas as clean, but don’t tell their customers that children living in homes with gas stoves have up to a 42% increased risk of asthma, comparable to living with a smoker. The public has a right to know about these risks.

Fossil fuel advertising undermines Canada’s climate commitments.

The federal government has already committed to phasing out gas-powered vehicles, but up to 80% of car advertising in Canada promotes the most polluting vehicles, like SUVs. We have committed to destroying demand for gas powered cars, yet these ads do the opposite and stoke it.

Fossil fuel greenwashing obstructs climate action.

The fossil fuel and automotive industries have moved from climate denial to misinformation and greenwashing. They use images of windmills and compost to sell the same dirty products. This deceives the public about effective climate action and leads to misinformed choices.

Known health hazards of fossil fuels:

Fossil fuel air pollution is responsible for 8.7 million deaths per year worldwide. That’s 1 in 5 deaths globally and 1 in 7 premature deaths in Canada.
86% of Canadians live in areas where air pollution exceeds the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization.
Transportation-related air pollution increases the risk of COVID-19-related illness and death.
Gas appliances are the main source of nitrogen dioxide, a highly reactive gas that causes respiratory tract damage and chronic lung disease. Health Canada has found that most Canadian gas stoves exceed their long-term indoor guidelines for nitrogen dioxide exposure.
The 2021 “heat dome” caused 619 heat-related deaths in British Columbia in a single week. Heat-related hospitalization rates are projected to increase at least 21% by 2050.
The incidence of Lyme disease from warming temperatures has increased 10 times from 2009-2018, and is projected to rise another 6 times by 2050 in Canada.

WHAT OUR COALITION IS DEMANDING

The fight to control tobacco advertising is a reminder that we can achieve great things when faced with conclusive scientific evidence of a major public health threat. In 1965, 50% of Canadian adults smoked. Today, that number is 15%.

On behalf of 35+ health organizations representing 700,000 health professionals across Canada with public and planetary health as our utmost priority, we have written a letter to the Government of Canada demanding a ban on fossil fuel advertising.