Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act

The Smoke-Free Ontario Act was launched on May 31, 2006 and has played a pivotal part in protecting people from exposure to second-hand smoke, encouraging young people to never start and helping smokers quit.

“Ontario’s journey to becoming ‘Smoke-Free’ has gained much momentum in the past 10 years,” says Rebecca Correira, Youth Ambassador Volunteer with Region of Waterloo Public Health. “We have witnessed the transition from smoking inside restaurants to banning smoking on outdoor public patios. Cigarette packages that were once displayed openly behind storefront counters are now hidden from the customer’s view. Spectators who once smoked at sporting events or playgrounds are no longer allowed to. Reflecting on the 10 year anniversary of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act sets the foundation for our next steps towards establishing a smoke-free generation in the next decade.”

Here are some highlights of the progress that the Smoke Free Ontario Act has made over the last 10 years:

• Banning smoking in all enclosed public places and all enclosed work places in May 2006
• Restricting the retail promotion of tobacco products in May 2006 and imposing a ban on the display of tobacco products in May 2008
• Banning smoking in motor vehicles with passengers under the age of 16 in January 2009
• Introducing prohibitions on the sale of flavoured cigarillos and establishing regulations for cigarillo packaging in July 2010
• Introducing stronger controls over all types of raw leaf tobacco grown in or imported into Ontario in June 2011
• Banning smoking on and around children’s playgrounds and publicly owned sports fields and surfaces as of January 1, 2015
• Banning smoking on bar and restaurant patios as of January 1, 2015
• Banning the sale of tobacco on university and college campuses as of January 1, 2015
• Prohibition on the sale of all flavoured tobacco products as of January 1, 2016
• All outdoor grounds of hospitals and specified government buildings are 100% smoke-free as of January 1, 2016
• The sale of e-cigarettes to minors is prohibited as of January 1, 2016 under the Electronic Cigarette Act, 2015

Further to this, the Ontario Government is proposing changes to strengthen its no smoking laws and has introduced legislation that, if passed, would:

• Prohibit the use of e-cigarettes and the smoking and vaping of medical marijuana in all enclosed public places, enclosed workplaces, and other specified outdoor areas
• Expand the list of places where e-cigarettes are prohibited for sale
• Establish rules for the display and promotion of e-cigarettes and prohibit the testing of e-cigarettes in places where they are sold

To mark the occasion of 10 years of the Smoke Free Ontario Act, Youth Ambassadors from the Region of Waterloo Public Health are visiting parks in the tri-city area to spread awareness about the new legislation changes. The Youth Ambassadors will be reminding people who smoke to keep our parks smoke-free by not smoking within 20 metres of publicly-owned playgrounds and sports areas, and by properly disposing cigarette butts in an ashtray or butt-stop.

For more information visit www.regionofwaterloo.ca/smokinglegislation  

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Media contact: Kirsten Keil-Mehlenbacher, Coordinator, Health Communications, 519-575-4400 ext. 2244. Kkeil-mehlenbacher@regionofwaterloo.ca