London, ON – The air around London’s parks, playgrounds and municipal buildings is about to get clearer. The City of London’s new outdoor smoking bylaw prohibits smoking within nine metres of park recreational amenities such as playground equipment, splash pads, sport fields and spectator areas, and the entrances to municipal buildings such as arenas, libraries and community centres. After months of development, recommendations and public consultations, the new regulation designed to protect people from second-hand smoke and reduce children seeing adults use tobacco, comes into effect today.

“Smoking on the sidelines of a playing field, in a playground or outside the entrance to an arena has never been consistent with the kind of healthy activities that take place at these locations,” says Linda Stobo, Manager of Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control with the Middlesex-London Health Unit. “Not only does second-hand smoke have a negative impact on the health of others, but merely seeing someone smoking, especially a role model like a parent, older sibling or coach, increases the risk a child may start using tobacco themselves.”

The new regulation, officially called the Smoking Near Recreation Amenities and Entrances Bylaw, will be enforced by Tobacco Enforcement Officers from the Middlesex-London Health Unit starting today, although it is expected it will be largely self-enforcing. Individuals found to be smoking closer than nine metres away from any of the areas specified in the Bylaw could face a fine of $205.

“The experience in other communities that have similar bylaws in place has been that with education and awareness of the regulations, people tend to keep themselves in check,” added Stobo. “If someone still smokes too closely to a building or near where children are playing, we’ve found that those who are nearby remind them about the Bylaw.”

London joins nearly 90 Ontario municipalities with bylaws related to smoking outdoors including Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, Belleville and Woodstock. The local bylaws in effect in these communities range from prohibiting smoking in parks and playgrounds to full smoking bans on all municipal property.

Media Contact:
Dan Flaherty, Communications Manager, Middlesex-London Health Unit, 519-663-5317 ext. 2469 or 519-617-0570 (cell.)

Spokesperson:
Linda Stobo, Program Manager, Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control, Middlesex-London Health Unit