Cigar Weekly

With hookah parlours under control, anti-smoking regulations in Vancouver are being taken to the great outdoors, where future bans could curtail smoking on beaches, in ticket lineups and at outdoor festivals.

Such regulations would be a natural progression from existing rules that restrict smoking indoors and at some outdoor locations such as patios and bus shelters, Richard Taki, director of health protection with Vancouver Coastal Health, said yesterday.

"The other areas to be looked at would be lineups for events, like buying concert tickets, or outdoor events where you have a large number of people," Mr. Taki said.

Vancouver's renowned beaches could also be subject to a smoking ban, he said, with family friendly beaches such as Stanley Park's Third Beach likely to be among the first to become smoke-free.

Policy discussions are at an early stage and new regulations would not be in place before 2009, he added.

Regulators might argue that smoking bans in certain places are in the public interest.

But "if they simply ban it in all parks and beaches, then they would be going over the top," said Robert Holmes, president of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.

Current regulations aim to restrict smoking in places where it is difficult for non-smokers to avoid smoke, but to go further and target smoking in large, outdoor areas is harder to justify, he said. Mr. Holmes also questioned how such regulations would be enforced.

Talks between Vancouver Coastal Health and the Vancouver Parks Board about outdoor smoking policies were spurred by recent heated debate over indoor smoking rules, Mr. Taki said.

Last September, the city revamped its smoking bylaws to bring them into line with stringent provincial anti-smoking regulations, but gave a temporary exemption to hookah parlours and cigar lounges.

Hookah-parlour owners had argued that their establishments provide a cultural gathering spot and should be exempt from the no-smoking rules. But in January, the city removed the exemptions, a decision reinforced earlier this month when Vancouver's planning and environment committee recommended there be no exemptions.

As that debate hung in the air, city and health officials began talking about the outdoors, taking note of rules imposed by other jurisdictions and agencies.

In California, a number of local governments have introduced smoking bans on piers and beaches, while cities have passed no-smoking bylaws for parks and playgrounds.

In British Columbia, the Provincial Health Services Authority - an umbrella group for hospitals, programs and agencies such as the B.C. Cancer Agency - in March introduced a smoke-free policy that bans smoking in its buildings, grounds, vehicles and parking lots.

Other B.C. municipalities have introduced no-smoking rules for school grounds, parks and playgrounds and, in June, Metro Vancouver asked staff to study a possible ban on smoking in Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which takes in the nudist Wreck Beach.

Regulators cite health risks of second-hand smoke, litter and pollution concerns as reasons for introducing the laws. If bans on beaches and other outdoor spaces were put in place, enforcement would likely be through signs and public pressure, Mr. Taki said.

"Primarily it's going to be through signage - and like most of the other smoking bylaws, through peer pressure. People will give you that look that says, 'Hey, go smoke somewhere else.' "