City looks at stricter smoking rules
At its June 10 meeting Calgary city council will look at recommendations from the Community and Protective Services Department to expand smoking bans to “select outdoor areas in which children and youth congregate.”
The department’s report finds additional smoke-free outdoor spaces especially those frequented by children such as playgrounds and sports fields could reduce children’s exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke.
The Community and Protective Services Department has determined that outdoor smoking restrictions that were added to municipal bylaws in 2002 may have played a part in reducing smoking rates. Seventeen per cent of Alberta youths over 15 years old continue to smoke and the city can tackle those numbers with new smoking restrictions the report said.
In addition to more smoking bans in outdoor public spaces the report recommends a “three-pronged” strategy that involves discouraging smoking at festivals and special outdoor events and raising community awareness and rates of voluntarily butting out through a public education campaign.
