Proposed smoking bylaw lights up debate

“It is something that maybe we should work on… and not punish people by banning it and vilifying them,” he added. “I would like to see a total ban, but [that is not] enforceable… because what is the point of making a law you can’t enforce.”

A number of the recommendations in the bylaw stem from the Canadian Cancer Society and feedback from a public survey. While most of these were followed, the Golf and Curling Club and Little Red River Park were not included in the ban.

Under the draft bylaw, smoking would only be prohibited at Little Red during a fire ban.

Coun. Charlene Miller, admitting she was a smoker, was supportive of the draft bylaw, but believed the golf course and Little Red should be included.

Mayor Greg Dionne said these locations should not be included in a ban as they were “hundreds of acres” of natural area. He questioned the ability to enforce a full ban.

“People are respectful so when we say, ‘well enforcement was going to be an issue,’ that’s hogwash. People are good people, they will abide by the rules,” he said. “At the end of the day, I also believe in that we live in a free country. At some point, we have to say enough is enough.”

He favoured the current bylaw in place, saying it is “fair and reasonable.”

Councillors also turned their attention to smoking regulations at the Art Hauser Centre and community rinks. After questions arose as to why nine metres was the preferred distance, administration explained this was simply “best practice.” Dionne said, “in lots of cases like this, why reinvent the wheel?”

He suggested adopting a similar policy to what is followed in Saskatoon at the SaskTel Centre.

“What they did was have two doors on the side and one fenced off area,” he said. “That is the problem at the Art Hauser Centre. They are right at the entrance.”

Administration will take the feedback into account and bring the Smoking in Public Places Bylaw forward for consideration at an upcoming council meeting.

Hookah bars come under fire

During the debate, Donna Pasiechnik with the Canadian Cancer Society asked the city to outlaw hookah bars.

She outlined the many falsities around hookah bars, such as claiming the product smoked is herbal, when tests have shown tobacco is added to many of the products. She said one-hour of hookah smoking was nearly equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes.

“The only reason these places have been allowed to open is that they skirted provincial laws by suggesting what is being smoked in these pipes is not tobacco,” she said.

With rising interest among youth, Pasiechnik warned of hookah bars as gateways to smoking addictions. With legalized marijuana, there is also a fear oils may be added to the pipes.

Mayor Dionne agreed with Pasiechnik assessment, noting even where the practice started in India and Pakistan, the products have been banned.

“I have been receiving complaints,” he said, noting a report on hookahs will come before council in the near future after consultations with the lone hookah bar operator in Prince Albert.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr

by Tyler Marr

Proposed smoking bylaw lights up debate

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