Ontario expands smoking ban

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Starting next year, smokers will have to butt out on bar and restaurant patios, municipal playgrounds and sports fields.

The province made the announcement Friday, as it continues to try and bring down the number of smokers.

The new law will also mean post-secondary students won’t be able to buy cigarettes on campus. As you can imagine, it has non-smokers rejoicing, and smokers fuming.

Over the last six years, Ontario’s smoking rate hasn’t changed, that’s just over 2-million people. But the Ontario government is hoping these new changes will allow them to achieve their goal of having the lowest smoking rate in the country. The number of smokers in Ontario haven’t decreased, but the number of places to smoke will.

Dipika Damerla, Associate Minister of Health and Long-Term Care: “As of January 1st, 2015, you will not be able to smoke at an outdoor patio for a restaurant or bar.”

With our youth’s health in mind, the Ontario government will also ban smoking within 20 meters of playgrounds and sports fields. Failing to heed the ban will cost you $250.

Dipika Damerla: “We’re taking this action because evidence shows that children are more vulnerable to the effects of smoking and tobacco use.”

Selling tobacco on college and university campuses will also be banned.

Upon hearing the news, those in the service industry are already foreseeing a patio-season full of headaches.

Jim Skarett, owner of The Lazy Flamingo: “If you’re in my patio, you gotta’ walk by the security guy, who has to check your i.d., lean on that fence and talk to the people you were talking to anyway, then you throw your cigarette on the ground cause there’s no ashtray instead of us cleaning up for you, then you got to walk by and bother my security guy again and show him the i.d. to get back into the bar.

The government has heard those concerns before — back in 2006 when Ontario banned smoking inside bars and restaurants.

Dipika Damerla: “There was a lot of concern raised, ‘oh, this is going to throw restaurants and bars out of business’. But the evidence shows that did not happen.”

For stores on post-secondary campuses, like the one at Mohawk College which sells 30-40 packs on a slow day, they understand the expected dip in business.

Nikka: “If you go for health wise, it will be good and if you look on the business round, it won’t be that much good.”

For some students who smoke, the ban won’t stop them from getting cigarettes.

“Realistically, you’re going to buy them anyways from a different store. So really, just selling them on campus if their selling it for cheaper, is it a really big deal or not.”

While others think it’s going too far.

“Everything is here for convenience, next thing you know they’re going to take away the bar.”

While opposition health critics were happy to see the change, they said there’s still a lot to be done. They’re wondering when the Liberals will start cracking down on flavoured and contraband tobacco which are aimed at youth — and eventually leads to smoking cigarettes.