Smoking ban in Vancouver parks discussed
First it was the workplace. Then restaurant patios were no longer an option. Now, smokers in Vancouver may have to butt out if they want to catch some rays on the beach.
On Monday (April 19), the Vancouver park board will discuss a potential smoking ban for beaches, parks, and playgrounds in the city of Vancouver. Park board commissioner Raj Hundal spoke with the Georgia Straight about why this is an important issue he hopes to push through.
“It’s an issue that I think deserves a lot of attention,” he said. “I think it’s groundbreaking in the city.”
Hundal said that the public feedback collected through an on-line survey of 608 people showed an overwhelming majority were in favour of a smoking ban being put in place for playgrounds, beaches, and parks.
Although he’s not a smoker, Hundal said that he understands the city is made up of smokers and nonsmokers, but for him it’s an issue that “affects everyone”. He cited health and environmental concerns as reasons to embrace the ban, explaining that cigarette butts have to be picked up manually.
But B.C. Civil Liberties Association president Robert Holmes thinks the proposal has nothing to do with health or the environment and is more about politicians grandstanding, adding that he doesn’t think the proposed bylaw would be enforced by local authorities.
“It will be piled on as yet another law that they don’t enforce, and that brings the whole existence of law into disrepute,” he told the Straight in a phone interview.
According to Holmes, the ban is another example of an attempt at prohibition by the government, a method of governing that he says won’t work.
“The actual resources that are involved in having the police try to suppress marijuana smoking have been just a complete failure; imagine if we tried to do that with tobacco,” he said.
Smoking bans were first implemented in B.C. in the early 1980s, with health concerns being cited as a primary reason for the move toward a smoke-free environment. But Holmes believes that if there is a sufficient number of people who want to continue to smoke outdoors, they will find a way to do it.
He also noted that people need only look to the day after the park board is set to contemplate the proposed ban to see why such regulations are often not enforced.
“There is going to be a mass of people gathered at the art gallery, and they are not going to be enforcing the law then,” he said in reference to 420, an annual international celebration of cannabis culture that will likely see thousands of people smoke marijuana outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Tuesday (April 20).
“It’s just pathetic, the kind of extreme you could see this thing going to, and all for what?” he said. “An aesthetic sense for the part of other people who are in the park—who if they ever got near someone who was smoking could walk away.”
The practice of banning smoking in outdoor public spaces is not a new one. Regulations are already in place in other municipalities, including White Rock, Richmond, and West Vancouver. If the park board approves the recommendations, the issue will go to Vancouver city council, which has the power to amend bylaws for enforcement.
No matter the result, Holmes won’t be backing the issue. “It’s just a big puzzle to me why they would want to further embarrass the law by putting out a bylaw like this,” he said. “It’s not going to be enforced, and it’s going to hold them up as being a spectacle of ridicule.”
You can follow Shadi Elien on Twitter at twitter.com/shadielien.
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Comments
17 Comments
therzo
Apr 16, 2010 at 10:43am
I can't stand when people smoke cigarettes around me. I don't like the fact that all taxpayers have to pay equally for the health-care of unhealthy people such as smokers.
However, it's ridiculous to tell people they can't smoke outside. Where will government interference in our lives end?
Unfortunately, because of how thoughtless people are nowadays, a law like this must be passed. If smokers had any decency they would smoke downwind of people so as not to blow their cancer into everyone's face. Also, these losers would not just throw their butts on the ground, they'd put them out and throw them in the trash. But, because smokers are idiots, through and through, I have to agree with the potential ban.
Robert Broughton
Apr 16, 2010 at 2:43pm
It says, "B.C. Civil Liberties Association president Robert Holmes thinks the proposal has nothing to do with health or the environment and is more about politicians grandstanding."
What exactly is Holmes' "thought" based on? Did he discuss this with any of the "grandstanding" politicians? Did he talk to any of the proponents or other supporters of this proposal?
Or did he just make it up?
U92
Apr 16, 2010 at 3:58pm
I have asthma and am sick of not being able to enjoy parks and beaches, public spaces for which I also pay, because every time I sit down to relax, some idiot comes along, parks him/herself upwind, and lights up. I've had to move up to six times an hour, because of course all smokers think that polite requests for reasonable consideration are a form of bullying and react with indignant aggression.
Seems they think that living in a "free world" means they get to inflict their stink and litter on everyone else, but not that anyone else is entitled to tell them how it affects others.
By all means, create some smoking sections (downwind from most frequently prevailing winds), but let's let EVERYONE enjoy the parks, not just those who want to foul up the air, litter, and create a fire risk that ruins everyone else's enjoyment.
lung cancer
Apr 17, 2010 at 1:15am
She would have better luck sucking smoke out of that cigarette if she put it closer to her mouth.
libertine
Apr 17, 2010 at 1:46pm
hey! enough smoker bashing already. cigarettes are a product that is condoned and promoted by our government (that means you, people), because of the MASSIVE amount of revenue generated by tobacco taxes. Smokers die quick when they get sick, so don't give me the health care burden argument, smokers pay for your health care! anyway, if you're worried about being 10 meters downwind from a smoker on the beach, you are being unreasonably sensitive. pick a battle that will ultimately make a difference to your asthmatic condition, such as highly carcinogenic diesel exhaust, which we all breath constantly without any whimpering complaints. as with all public issues, one must go after the systems that keep the status quo, not the individuals. let people live and be free to do what they want with their own bodies. just ticket smokers for littering if they flick their butts, otherwise, butt out!
JG
Apr 17, 2010 at 4:30pm
The government is going way to far with the smoking bans.
Is it legal or not?
Apr 17, 2010 at 4:55pm
The government LOVES smokers because they pay more taxes than you and me. The (addictive) product exists, is legal although lethal, and is taxed heavily. And before long the only legal place to smoke will be your own living room (provided you own your home, because god knows there are no rental accepting smokers!).
I don't smoke now, but I did for over 15 years, and I feel nothing but pity for people who smoke. It's not an east life - they probably chose it at the age 13 (I did!) and will battle it forever, or smoke in dark alleys filled with shame and self-hatrid. Give the poor tax paying smokers a break, for goodness sake!
Been there
Apr 18, 2010 at 8:52am
Education, not legislation is the answer. No matter how many laws are put into effect, people will still do what is not good for them. More emphasis is needed in educating everyone especially the kids about the harmful effects of cigarettes. If the government wants to make a real difference, maybe they should force the cigarette companies to sell smaller packages (5 cigarettes per pack) and only one pack per customer. Eventually, the inconvenience will encourage many to quit.
eat it city council
Apr 19, 2010 at 2:58pm
suck it non smokers. until the governement makes it illegal to smoke period, they have no right to ban it from outside spaces which everyone pays for.
think
Apr 20, 2010 at 5:59am
Average smokers pay around $100,000 for tax from cigarettes for their lifespan. And they die 5-6 years earlier than non-smokers which benefits the society around $200,000.
So don't tell me smokers are burden to the society.
They are beneficial.