At the last Coquitlam council meeting, Councillor Robinson motioned to consider a smoking by-law for the City of Coquitlam. Here is the full text of the motion from January 18, 2010:
Whereas 82% of Canadians do not smoke;
And whereas it has long been recognized that second hand smoke contains over 4000 chemicals including 50 known chemicals to cause cancer;
And whereas senior levels of government have taken actions under their respective jurisdictions to protect citizens from second hand smoke such as the Federal governments Non-Smokers Health Act passed in 1988 and recently strengthened in 2007 banning smoking and more recently smoking rooms from their workplaces and the Provincial government recently amended the Motor Vehicle Act to ban smoking in vehicles where a minor (under 16 years of age) is present;
And whereas the Fraser Health Authority supports limiting exposure to second hand smoke;
And whereas smoking restrictions increase the motivation for smokers to quit or cutback, decreases negative role modeling for children, protects the environment and reduces litter;
And whereas direct enforcement from the municipality may not be necessary as experience with outdoor and indoor smoke-free laws has shown that the by-law itself is enough to deter most people from smoking. In addition, peer pressure arising from the common understanding that the space is smoke-free also deters people from smoking:
Therefore be it resolved that the City of Coquitlam develop a ban on smoking on public patios and spaces where minors (under 16 years of age) might be present;
And that the City of Coquitlam invite municipalities in Metro Vancouver that have yet to develop smoking bans to consider such a ban;
And that the City of Coquitlam ask the Province to consider a ban on smoking in all public spaces.
As much as I do not like people who smoke in public places, I believe that this by-law will (a) drive consumers away; and (b) limit the rights and freedoms that are guaranteed under the constitution. I believe that instead of banning smoking from our city, our city council should get the public aware that smoking is bad and try to discourage it.
Although it is going to be discussed today at the Coquitlam Council meeting, please comment what you think about this by-law.
