No smoking

In August of 2001, almost five years ago, the city of Ottawa banned smoking in all workplaces – not just offices, but restaurants, bars, and (gasp!) bingo halls. People said the ban would cause restaurants to go bankrupt as patrons fled across the river to Quebec; they said the hospitality industry in the city would never survive. Turns out they were wrong.

Two weeks from today, the entire province of Ontario (population 12.5M, about 1/3 of the entire population of Canada) will ban smoking in all workplaces and enclosed spaces – restaurants, bars, schools, private clubs, healthcare facilities, sports arenas, entertainment venues, work vehicles and offices including government buildings. The initiative is called Smoke Free Ontario, and I think it’s wonderful.

You will not be able to smoke in the common areas of apartment buildings and condominiums. You won’t be able to smoke in a parking garage. You won’t be able to smoke on an outdoor patio if there is any kind of shelter, including even a plastic tarp stretched overhead. And, if you run a private daycare in your home, you cannot smoke in your home – even while the kids are not there.

And as if that weren’t enough, there will be a private members bill proposed in the Ontario Legislature to ban smoking in a private vehicle when children are present.

Bravo to the government of Ontario. Bravo!

Unfortunately, I think there are going to be a lot of problems implementing this legislation. Although there will be fines and penalties, Ontario is an awfully large province with a very small amount of resources for enforcement. And I feel genuine sympathy for those who are trying hard to quit but haven’t been able to do it yet.

Even though I’ve been raised in an era of a paternalistic government and believe in collective social responsibility, I can see where some people see this legislation as a draconian infringement on personal rights and freedoms. But your right to smoke ends when you exhale your smoke into my clean air.

In the five years since Ottawa became smoke-free, it seems we’ve adjusted pretty well from an economic standpoint. And it seems like a lifetime since we’ve had to deal with drifting smoke in restaurants and wretched-smelling clothes after a night on the town. (I used to go out! I did, I did!)

I love the fact that we can go practically anywhere now and not be exposed to second-hand smoke, and I applaud any measures that discourage people from starting. Smoke ’em if you got ’em… but not around me, thanks.

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

6 thoughts on “No smoking”

  1. Bravo! I still remember filling out question cards in The Lieutenant’s Pump in the summer of 2001. I am so glad that I live in a smoke free city and am tickled at the thought of living in a smoke free province.
    I don’t go to restaurants whenever I go to Montreal to visit my family because of the smoke. But all that will change in 14 days. I never thoguht I would to see the day that Montreal would go smoke free but it’s close!
    I have one more I would like to add but I doubt would get passed. Please, if you smoke in your car, don’t do it in the drive thru line. It is so offensive on a sring/summer day when waiting in line and the person in front of you has a cigarette hanging out the window. Yuck!

  2. The problem with this is that this ban has pushed the smokers onto the sidewalks in front of the establishments that formerly contained them. Now I have to push the stroller through clouds of smoke when walking through my slowly-gentrifying neighbourhood, and frequently (daily – I mean it when I say frequently) endure comments from inebriated toothless “gentlemen” – ranging from a phlegmy “Hello Little Missy” to a slurring “Can I bum a schmooke”. This is not a good solution to the problem of secondhand smoking in public places in my book.
    While many of my friends smoke, and I’ve had Josephine at their houses where they generally tend to smoke outside even when at home, and she’s played in their back yards while they indulge farther away – that’s my choice. Walking through it on our way to the park or store is not my choice.
    So while it’s a major step, and until the next step which I believe is a ban on smoking within a certain distance from the entrance to any public place (in effect in other places already) – really the only thing to do is ban cigarettes and smoking entirely.
    But since I too “believe in collective social responsibility, I can see where some people see this legislation as a draconian infringement on personal rights and freedoms. But your right to smoke ends when you exhale your smoke into my clean air.” – I also am enjoying the benefits of all of those tax dollars the government collects on the sale of cigarettes. I laugh when I think of Bob Newhart’s “Sir Walter Raleigh” routine. “Let me get this – you’re going to put it in your mouth and light it on fire and do WHATt?”. Now some people can’t imagine their lives without it, the government relies upon the income, and it provokes debate like nothing else.
    I’m enjoying many of the benefits of a smoke-free province, but I’m being punished by it in turn. So what to do?

  3. As a smoker(and a polite one I like to think) I have no problem not smoking in public places and here in Sudbury as in Ottawa I do believe, you must be 9 meters or 30 feet away from public entrances. I don’t smoke in my house(haven’t for years)and don’t have a problem moving away from non smokers even when outdoors. It’s a nasty habit and one of these days I’ll get to quitting. I’m down to about 12/15 a day from more than a pack each day!
    Barb

  4. Yay! I fully endorse no-smoking policies and legislation. I could rant on and on all day about it. I’ll spare you though. I would add though that while it’s true the government benefits from the tax on the sale of cigarettes, it also expends a lot on health care for these same individuals (and those who “benefit” from second-hand smoke). In the end, I think the government might still be financially ahead a bit but society continues to suffer as a whole.
    I am also a big fan of legislation banning smoking in vehicles when children are present. I think the legislation should go one step further though and ban it in homes when children are present. I don’t see how you can legislate one and not the other. There would be no point. Parents who smoke are poisoning their children and should be held accountable. The children don’t usually have a say in the matter so it’s time the government steps up to the plate.
    Whew! I better stop there. I forgot my soapbox at home.
    Okay, one more thing… We’ve been talking about this issue at school and I’ve been relating it to the legalization of marijuana. There seems to be a double standard here because the government obviously continues to support the use of cigarettes. Marijuana is far less harmful. How can the government say one is okay to use and the other not? I could debate taht for hours too.
    Okay, tirade over. Thanks for listening.

  5. Saskatchewan did this a year and a half ago and it turned out just fine. And I’m glad to read JoJo’s comment that Montreal is going non-smoking… I’m going there in less than 2 weeks. I would have just expected all major cities to be non-smoking.

  6. That was one thing that I was so sad about leaving Ottawa…it is wonderful.
    BIG NEWS!!!! Starting Mat 31…Montreal is doing the same. Now, I NEVER thought I would see this happen in my lifetime. Montrealers. Like. To. Smoke.
    A. Lot.
    I am thrilled. Bloody thrilled!! Of course there is all the same controversies all over the media, just as there was in Ottawa in 2001. So, I rest assured all will be fine.
    BIG-ASS Bravo to everywhere that follows suit!!

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