Tobacco Advocates Fuming Over Canadian Legislation

Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello of Virginia wrote that protecting young people from sweet-flavored cigarettes was "well-intended," but he objected to including American-blend cigarettes in the ban. He said the flavorings added to burley are "an important part of the manufacturing process."

The U.S. Trade Representative's office declined comment.

Will Snell, a University of Kentucky agricultural economist specializing in tobacco, said Canada is not a major U.S. burley market or a major consumer of American-blend cigarettes.

Other cigarettes contain just a single type of tobacco, often flue-cured leaf. U.S. critics of the Canadian bill say it would not ban those types of smokes.

The biggest concern is the "potential precedence" of the Canadian proposal because so much burley is exported, Snell said. In recent years, total U.S. burley production has been around 200 million pounds, valued at between $1.60 and $1.75 per pound, he said. About three-quarters of that comes from Kentucky.

"So any policy that is adopted with any great magnitude worldwide that has adverse impacts on U.S. burley is a significant concern," he said.