by KRISTIAN GRAVENOR

When they came here from China six years ago, the owners of the dépanneur at St-Cuthbert and Clark didn't know exactly what they'd do to make a living. "We had little English or French and we didn't want to go on welfare," says Anna Fu. For the last four years she, along with her husband Jack Zhang, have been spending 17 hours a day in the store. "It's very low profit and it's dangerous. We find it hard to get people to work here with us because they say they're scared."

Part of what makes it worthwhile is the profits they make from selling cigarettes. "If there were no cigarette sales, many dépanneurs would close, for sure," says Zhang. The couple says that 20 to 30 per cent of their profits come from cigarette sales.

But a new law could alter that reality. Quebec's Health Ministry is planning a new law expected to arrive in about a year that aims at putting tough new restrictions on the way cigarettes are sold.

The health honchos are welcoming suggestions on how the new law should work. Until February 25, those interested can contact the ministry or visit www.msss.gouv.qc.ca to comment.

One group pleading for the status quo is the Association des marchands, dépanneurs et épiciers du Québéc (AMDEQ), an association that represents 980 of Quebec's independent corner stores. The group is particularly worried the upcoming regulations will limit the number of places allowed to sell cigarettes. "Such a rule could lead to the closing of hundreds of dépanneurs," says AMDEQ VP Yves Servais.

"On the Health Ministry consultation document, they ask a question of whether they should reduce the number of points of sales of tobacco," he says. "Will they be including dépanneurs in that? It would be hell, because 30 per cent of the sales in a dépanneur are tobacco. Other provinces didn't go that far and we hope they don't do it here."

Servais also suspects that the new law will outlaw powerwalls, a marketing term for the display of cigarettes behind the counter.

Saskatchewan banned such displays in 2002. In January, the Surpreme Court upheld the ban after tobacco giant RBH challenged the law. Nunavut and Manitoba have also made powerwall displays illegal. A typical Quebec dépanneur earns $2,000 to $6,000 annually in direct payments from tobacco companies for such a display.

Servais says that the closing of dépanneurs would hurt consumers and communities. "Dépanneurs are the life of a neighbourhood," he says. "They offer services at a closer proximity and owners are close to their clients. They know everybody."

In 1998, anti-tobacco lobbyists won a battle to stop pharmacies from selling cigarettes. While most pharmacies complied with the court order, the Jean Coutu chain complained that the industry stood to lose $30-million a year, although no follow-up study was ever done. The Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control is not fighting to further limit the number of stores that sell tobacco, but want outdoor ads and sales banned, as well as cigarette vending machines.

And they sure want those powerwalls gone. "They're a very powerful incentive for a smoker who is willing to quit," says coalition coordinator Louis Gauvin. "When he goes into a store it just reminds him that cigarettes are honoured in society. It's powerful to a young person. It makes him believe that, ‘Everybody else is smoking, then why aren't I?''"