05-25-2006, 05:00 AM
Ont. smoking law will hurt businesses, critics say
CTV.ca News Staff
Smokers' rights advocates say 1,000 businesses will go bankrupt and thousands of people will lose their jobs as a result of Ontario's new anti-smoking legislation, set to take effect in a week.
"At least 4,000 businesses will be impacted," Edgar Mitchell, of the Pub and Bar Coalition of Canada, said at a news conference in Toronto Wednesday.
"Possibly 2,000 will have severe difficulties and as many as 1,000 will be forced out of business. Yes, some pubs and bars can adapt, but it's a damned hard road."
Mitchell said he lost not only $1 million but also his pub to recent changes to the province's anti-smoking laws.
On June 1, the Smoke-Free Ontario Act bans smoking in enclosed public spaces and all workplaces, including bars, restaurants, casinos and bingo halls. The legislation is one of the toughest in North America.
Nancy Daigneault, president of mychoice.ca, a website that stands up for smokers' rights, said the legislation goes too far.
"In Ontario, biker gangs and even swingers now can have their own private clubs, but heaven forbid law-abiding smokers should be allowed to have anywhere that they can go to associate," she said.
Daigneault said there needs to be a reasonable middle ground that allows smokers their right to use a legal product.
Operators of casinos and bingo halls in the border city of Windsor have reported backlash from American tourists who promise they will stop crossing the border if they are not allowed to smoke inside the facilities.
By June 2008, the legislation demands retailers remove their so-called cigarette 'power walls' and replace them with a new display that puts them out of sight from minors.
Provincial politicians and health officials say the smoking laws will lower the health-care costs associated with diseases linked to cigarettes, prevent young people from taking up smoking and help smokers quit.
A recent survey found 96 per cent of Ontario residents support smoking restrictions, and 67 per cent felt the laws put increased pressure on smokers to quit.
Heather Crowe, the long-time waitress who contracted lung cancer after decades of exposure to second-hand smoke at work, died this week at the age of 61.
The non-smoker became the face for Canada's anti-smoking movement, sharing her story in television ads for Health Canada.
Crowe was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in 2002. She learned last August she was losing her battle with the disease.
Crowe was the first person to win a claim filed with the Ontario Workers Safety and Insurance Board for full compensation for lung cancer caused by occupational exposure to cigarette smoke.
Earlier this month, Ontario Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson announced an additional $5.5 million for public health units to help pay for the enforcement of the blanket ban.
The money will pay for more than 100 enforcement officers.
Watson said even though 80 per cent of Ontario residents don't smoke, tobacco-related diseases kill 44 people in the province every day, making it the number one preventable cause of death.
Tobacco consumption rates in Ontario have dropped almost 10 per cent in the past year.
With the new legislation, the government hopes to cut the number of smokers by 20 per cent in 2007.
With a report from CTV's Paul Bliss and files from The Canadian Press
CTV.ca News Staff
Smokers' rights advocates say 1,000 businesses will go bankrupt and thousands of people will lose their jobs as a result of Ontario's new anti-smoking legislation, set to take effect in a week.
"At least 4,000 businesses will be impacted," Edgar Mitchell, of the Pub and Bar Coalition of Canada, said at a news conference in Toronto Wednesday.
"Possibly 2,000 will have severe difficulties and as many as 1,000 will be forced out of business. Yes, some pubs and bars can adapt, but it's a damned hard road."
Mitchell said he lost not only $1 million but also his pub to recent changes to the province's anti-smoking laws.
On June 1, the Smoke-Free Ontario Act bans smoking in enclosed public spaces and all workplaces, including bars, restaurants, casinos and bingo halls. The legislation is one of the toughest in North America.
Nancy Daigneault, president of mychoice.ca, a website that stands up for smokers' rights, said the legislation goes too far.
"In Ontario, biker gangs and even swingers now can have their own private clubs, but heaven forbid law-abiding smokers should be allowed to have anywhere that they can go to associate," she said.
Daigneault said there needs to be a reasonable middle ground that allows smokers their right to use a legal product.
Operators of casinos and bingo halls in the border city of Windsor have reported backlash from American tourists who promise they will stop crossing the border if they are not allowed to smoke inside the facilities.
By June 2008, the legislation demands retailers remove their so-called cigarette 'power walls' and replace them with a new display that puts them out of sight from minors.
Provincial politicians and health officials say the smoking laws will lower the health-care costs associated with diseases linked to cigarettes, prevent young people from taking up smoking and help smokers quit.
A recent survey found 96 per cent of Ontario residents support smoking restrictions, and 67 per cent felt the laws put increased pressure on smokers to quit.
Heather Crowe, the long-time waitress who contracted lung cancer after decades of exposure to second-hand smoke at work, died this week at the age of 61.
The non-smoker became the face for Canada's anti-smoking movement, sharing her story in television ads for Health Canada.
Crowe was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in 2002. She learned last August she was losing her battle with the disease.
Crowe was the first person to win a claim filed with the Ontario Workers Safety and Insurance Board for full compensation for lung cancer caused by occupational exposure to cigarette smoke.
Earlier this month, Ontario Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson announced an additional $5.5 million for public health units to help pay for the enforcement of the blanket ban.
The money will pay for more than 100 enforcement officers.
Watson said even though 80 per cent of Ontario residents don't smoke, tobacco-related diseases kill 44 people in the province every day, making it the number one preventable cause of death.
Tobacco consumption rates in Ontario have dropped almost 10 per cent in the past year.
With the new legislation, the government hopes to cut the number of smokers by 20 per cent in 2007.
With a report from CTV's Paul Bliss and files from The Canadian Press
![[Image: iseewhat3ag0dx.jpg]](http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/nasescobar/iseewhat3ag0dx.jpg)