Every Friday at 7:05 a.m., the Global Regina Morning News is joined by a guest for ‘Digging Deeper’ to unpack an issue that’s making headlines.
REGINA – Cities and towns say it’s the Saskatchewan government’s problem, but the province seems to prefer municipalities be responsible for setting their own bylaws around the use of electronic cigarettes or vapourizers.
The issue is at the forefront this week after delegates at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) convention voted to push for a province-wide ban on ‘vaping’ in public spaces, such as playgrounds and patios.
On Friday, the Morning News was joined by Donna Pasiechnik, tobacco control manager with the Canadian Cancer Society’s Saskatchewan division, to discuss the obstacles facing a province-wide public vaping ban.
Q: Who should be responsible for e-cigarette legislation?
Pasiechnik: In our view, it’s the responsibility of every level of government to protect the health of its citizens and adopt public health policy.
We’ve seen already in Saskatchewan, with Saskatoon banning smoking on outdoor patios years ago despite no provincial legislation. Recently, they’ve improved their bylaw to include the use of electronic cigarettes anywhere tobacco is banned.
Q: If this doesn’t happen at a provincial level, as Regina’s mayor would prefer, what do you hope for locally?
Pasiechnik: This is the capital of Saskatchewan, over 225,000 people live here. Our polling has found people in Regina strongly support more smoke-free places, particularly patios, restaurants, bars and playgrounds. We’ll continue to make this issue, we will make this a municipal election issue because we believe this is the right thing to do.
In Saskatchewan and across the country, it tends to be municipalities that lead the way in terms of health policies and that’s often followed by provincial governments adopting province-wide legislation.
Q: Considering the people who say they use e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking, do you think this would deter them?
Pasiechnik: For every study that says they can help people quit, there’s another study that says they won’t and can actually hinder a person’s ability to quit. The jury is still out. Health Canada has not approved them as a quit-smoking aide yet, that’s important to remember. There are other products that are approved to help people.
I think we need to be cautious, we need to remember the number of people using these products. That’s a public health concern. We’re really worried about electronic cigarettes undermining the progress we’ve made reducing tobacco use.
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