ABOVE: What do Toronto’s restaurant owners think of banning smoking on patios? Mark Carcasole reports.
TORONTO – Toronto’s Medical Officer is recommending the city’s bar and restaurant patios join the list of outdoor places that are smoke-free.
The recommendations come following an October 2012 request from the Board of Health (BOH), asking the medical officer to “consult with key stakeholders on additional measures to reduce second-hand smoke exposure in outdoor public places.”
Toronto Public Health said they spoke with bar and restaurant owners, property managers, the hospital sector, sports groups, health and community-based organizations, universities, colleges and students, members of the public and relevant city divisions. The goal was to “improve protection from second-hand smoke and to decrease the visibility of smoking in public places.”
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The report recommends the following outdoor spaces be smoke-free as a result:
-public building entrances and exits
-sports fields
-specific amenities in parks
-swimming beaches
-public squares
-bar and restaurant patios
-hospital grounds
Smoking bans in beaches, parks and playgrounds have extended into several Canadian regions, such as Ottawa and Hamilton. Calgary has also been considering its own measures. By March 2013, the Manitoba government became the first in the country to ban smoking on all its public beaches and playgrounds.
The Canadian Cancer Society in B.C. has even called for a ban on outdoor smoking in public spaces across the province.
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