New School Politics

Banning Smoking

Paul | 4 04 2007

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Cigarette smoke continues to be banned across the world in restaurants, schools, offices, bars, and other public places. But, is Toronto going to far with the potential banning of smoking in rooms of all apartment buildings in Canada’s largest city?

Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman has announced that it is time for the public to begin to debate over the merits of a ban. Many highrises and apartment buildings do not have the proper ventilation systems in place to ensure that smoke does not filter into other suites. While he would like the market to take care of the situation, Smitherman said it would be interesting to have the discussion over whether any legislation should be in place.

We all know smoking causes many health problems. While the number of smokers has certainly diminished in recent decades, and a growing stigma is attached to those with cigarettes in their mouths, I do believe that more laws are required to move the situation forward. Smoking should be banned wherever it can encroach on someone who does not welcome it. Only if the area has sufficient ventilation, such as proper closed off smoking rooms in bars, or in a large park, should smoking be allowed. A certain radius around bus stops or the front of public buildings should be smoke-free by law. The smoke in such an area can travel with the right gust of wind, and it annoys anyone in its path. It shouldn’t be up to the non-smoker to move out of the way.

If smoke is leaking into the rooms of non-smokers, those buildings should be designated as “smokey.” From here, I could see two situations: either buildings are designated as smoke-free or not; or, under harsher laws, the landlords of the “smokey” buildings would be required to fix the ventilation within a certain date or face closure. With option 1, you could even provide incentives like lower property taxes in exchange for cleaner and healthier air for citizens, while a “smoke” tax could also be applied to those buildings who do not conform with the smoke-free status.