Smoking to be banned on patios in Toronto

Ontario is set to ban smoking on patios and in playgrounds January 1st, 2015. That's bad news for smokers who've previously been able to puff away over drinks at many Toronto restaurants and bars with outdoor areas, but a move that will likely be applauded by non-smokers everywhere. This has been a long time coming. Last fall Toronto's Medical Officer formally recommended such a ban after an extensive consultation process, though it is the provincial government that has taken the initiative to tighten anti-smoking laws.

You can expect that some businesses will complain about lost revenue from a patio smoking ban, but given how many times just such a law has been proposed, one suspects it was inevitable that this ban would eventually put in place. Also part of the legislation is a ban on the sale of tobacco products on college and university campuses. What do you think? Is this good governance or should businesses have the right to decide on patio smoking rules?

Photo by M E Faulkner in the blogTO Flickr pool

by Derek Flack via blogTO