Region could soon have ban on open-space smoking
Posted Sep 19, 2013 03:34:42 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
You may soon have to butt out in open-space areas around Waterloo Region as regional council is looking to endorse a push for smoke free parks and sports fields.
Jonathan Mall is the manager of tobacco and cancer prevention at Waterloo Region Public Health and tells 570 News there has been a push to put regulations in place both locally and provincially.
” We do have some of the townships and the cities who’ve identified this as something to look into, so there is defiantly interest. Beyond the local area, this is something that is growing across the province…there are several communities that have already put this into place.”
Mall adds the public needs to be educated in order for the ban to work.
“As long as people know what the rules are, the compliance has been very high. Actually many communities report that haven’t had to write a ticket.”
Townships and cities throughout the area gathered last week in Elmira to discuss the possibility of creating a smoking ban in open-space areas throughout the region, with the goal to decrease the amount of second hand smoke children are being exposed to and so far, Mall adds, there has been strong support.
