Smokers in Ottawa may soon find themselves left out in the cold if new smoking bans are approved.
Public health officials say support continues to increase for more stringent smoking regulations, as three months of consultations to update Ottawa’s smoke-free bylaws concluded this week.
Ottawa Public Health opened consultations with the public and businesses in October 2010, following the Board of Health’s decision to review anti-smoking bylaws.
The initiative aims to reduce second-hand smoke exposure in the city, says Anne Meloche, project officer with the city agency’s tobacco control team.
“There has been more support than opposition for updating smoke-free bylaws to include outdoor locations, like parks, public beaches and patios,” says Meloche.
“The public is well-informed about the dangers of second-hand smoke outdoors, and updating bylaws is the next step,” she says.
It is a different environment from 2001, when controversial indoor smoking bylaws were enacted, she adds.
More than 1,700 people provided input at the six consultations across the city and through an online survey which closed Jan. 20, says Meloche, who hosted the consultations. Public Health is pleased with the response, she says.
The consultations presented 19 locations to review for updated smoking bylaws, including doorways to public places, hookah bars and outdoor festivals.
Bylaw updates would particularly affect people in Centretown, rich with public buildings, bars and patios, parks and outdoor festivals, like Capital Pride and Bluesfest.
Parks and public beaches are locations that were widely supported for smoke-free bylaws throughout the consultations, says Rideau-Vanier Councillor Mathieu Fleury, a board of health member.
Some residents and business owners voiced concerns about restricting smoking at the final consultation at city hall on Jan. 10.
Amjd Shendi, owner of Sinbad Café, a Bank Street hookah bar, said banning water-pipe smoking indoors would infringe on this cultural and social practice.
Bylaw updates would negatively affect the business of hookah bars across the city, Shendi said at the consultation.
This would include those located in Centretown, such as VIP Shisha on Preston Street.
Banning smoking at festivals would lower the attendance of those who enjoy smoking freely outdoors, added Loresa Novy, chair of the annual Capital Pride festival.
But some Ottawa residents, such as Carmela Graziani, said asthma and other health issues related to second-hand smoke prevent her from attending festivals where smoking is permitted.
“I would love to go to the Bluesfest,” said Graziani, referring to the outdoor music festival held annually in Centretown. “But I do not even bother because of all the smoking.”
Other residents at the final consultation said smoking at Dundonald Park, on Somerset Street West, prevents them from enjoying the outdoor movie nights held there in the summer.
“Smoking of tobacco and water-pipes is a growing issue in Ottawa,” says Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society.
He points to recent reports that the city has the highest rates of cancer in Ontario, according to Ottawa Public Health.
“If bylaws are enacted in an encouraging way, paired with resources to support smokers, it would help me quit,” said Michael Lafontaine, a smoker of 27 years, who attended the final consultation.
Ottawa Public Health will analyze the results of the consultations and make bylaw recommendations to the Board of Health on Feb. 6. Changes to the smoking bylaw could be enacted as early as this spring, says Fleury.