[Intl-tobacco] Canada: Province plans vast ban on smoking

[Robert Weissman]

Province plans vast ban on smoking
by WILL HILLIARD / The Telegram
Source: St. John's (Newfoundland) Telegram, Wednesday, 12/6/00

Newfoundland would be the first province to impose a provincewide ban on
smoking in restaurants and other public places frequented by children
under legislative changes proposed to come into effect Jan. 1, 2002.

Health Minister Roger Grimes tabled amendments in the House of Assembly
Tuesday to the existing Tobacco Control Act and the Smoke-Free Environment
Act, which would further limit young peopleÕs access to tobacco products,
broaden the restrictions on smoking in public places, and better enforce
anti-tobacco laws.

But Grimes steered clear of mentioning bars, lounges and gaming rooms,
such as bingo halls, in his smoke-free bill.

Under the changes to the Tobacco Control Act there would be an eventual
ban on the sale of tobacco products and accessories at pharmacies;
19-year-olds would be required to apply for and produce a government-issue
photo identification for purchases of tobacco; convictions under the
federal Tobacco Act would be considered prior convictions under the
provincial version; and sections of the act would be clarified.

In addition to banning smoking in restaurants, changes to the Smoke-Free
Environment Act would empower inspectors to issue provincial offence
tickets, fine violators outright and remove a tobacco licence from
businesses where the licence has been suspended or revoked.

ÒThese legislative amendments are part of an aggressive agenda being
undertaken by this government to reduce the harmful effects of smoking on
our population Ñ now and into the future,Ó Grimes told reporters.

ÒWe have a responsibility to protect our citizens from the health risks
associated with second-hand smoke and to discourage our young people from
acquiring this dangerous habit.Ó

The proposed changes were welcomed by the anti-smoking lobby Alliance for
the Control of Tobacco (ACT) Ñ which is funded by GrimesÕ department Ñ
even though they fell far short of their ideals. Last month, ACT had
called for a provincewide ban on smoking in restaurants by May 2001 and a
phased-in, three-year prohibition of smoking at all other public places Ñ
including bars and lounges Ñ within three years.

ÒWe would like to see things move faster, but itÕs a good start,Ó said
Brent Smith, ACT director. ÒWeÕre moving in the right direction. É One of
the things we have to do now is to educate people who work in the bar
industry what smoking does to their health.Ó

He said a stack of studies has now shown that smoke-free environment laws
have actually improved business, particularly those related to tourism
traffic, or have had little effect on business revenues of restaurants and
bars.

Armed with his own facts and figures on how smoking bans can hurt
business, Marcel Etheridge, president of the provincial Beverage Industry
Association, said bar owners would have shut down their establishments in
protest and severed governmentÕs cash-cow video lottery terminal machines
if the ban had included them.

ÒThe ultimatum was this É thereÕs nothing we wouldnÕt do to stop this from
going in and that would include everything from total, outright shutting
our bars down, to not obeying the law,Ó he said. ÒI would assume that if
we had closed the bars totally youÕd be looking at between $50 million and
$60 millionÓ in lost gaming revenues to government.

Etheridge said smoking should be allowed in bars and lounges until such a
time that the marketplace determines Ñ through people quitting smoking Ñ
that thereÕs no longer a need. Bar owners are up against so much
competition from private charitable groups and service groups using bar
licences to generate revenues, a ban would drive many out of business, he
said.

He said about 90 per cent of the 500 bars and lounge owners in the
province would have rallied against a government ban.

Grimes said there was no pressure to exempt bars and lounges because they
house the provinceÕs VLTs. He said they were excluded because minors donÕt
have access to them. He didnÕt address the issue of non-smokers who might
wish to patronize bars, but donÕt because of the smoke.

Yvonne Power, spokeswoman with Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador,
which also represents the beverage industry, said based on studies sheÕs
seen out of British Columbia on a ban on smoking in restaurants in some
jurisdictions there, sheÕs concerned the ban would have an adverse affect
on the provinceÕs much smaller hospitality industry here.

Moreover, she said many establishments that are both bars and restaurants
could be facing expensive renovations.

ÒThe one year is just not long enough. We wanted at least three years to
phase it in,Ó she said. ÒNo one is doubting thereÕs a health issue here,
but we canÕt afford to take any chances.Ó

Several cities and towns across Canada, among them Toronto, have imposed
smoke-free laws for restaurants, but no province has imposed an all-out
ban on smoking. Meanwhile, the effects of the anti-smoking lobby are
obvious.  More and more restaurants offer smoke-free sections. Many
shopping complexes, such as the Village and Avalon Mall, are entirely
smoke-free by choice.

Dr. Ronan OÕShea, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical
Association, one of the 50 organizations that comprise ACT, said heÕs
happy government is expanding anti-smoking laws, but he said the proposed
amendments donÕt go far enough.

ÒWe support the governmentÕs initiatives and anything that theyÕre doing
to try and protect young people from smoking, and non-smokers from
secondary smoke,Ó OÕShea said. ÒBut it is clearly a conflict that
pharmaceutical companies, whose main role is to promote health and sell
products which promote health care, that they should be selling tobacco
products is almost hypocritical and goes against their fundamental reason
for being there.

ÒEvery doctor sees the effects of smoking in all ages.Ó

OÕShea said secondhand smoke has been shown to be linked to a variety of
health problems, including lung cancer, heart disease and other
cardiovascular illnesses.

According to the National Clearinghouse on Tobacco and Health, smoking
kills nearly 1,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador every year. Another
figure estimated 8,000 cases of childhood illness occur every year as a
result of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Don Rowe, spokesman for the provincial pharmaceutical association, said
pharmacy owners across the province agree that smoking has to go.

ÒIt is the position of our association that pharmacies should be out of
it,Ó he said.

ÒAnd within the next few years it will be out of all pharmacies. Any new
pharmacies that open Jan. 1, 2001 would automatically be tobacco-free and
any change of ownership would be tobacco-free.

ÒA task force we set up showed that on average over the 140 stores that
sell tobacco now, there was a figure of $30,000 in gross margin (that)
would be involved in the sale of tobacco. É ItÕs an economic issue that we
are trying to work around.Ó