One of the longest public health events across the country continues.
Canadian Cancer Society Health Promotion Coordinator, Megan Klitch says that the number of communities sheltered with outdoor tobacco bylaws have skyrocketed over the past decade.
“In 2006 there were 6 communities with bylaws in place that restricted where people could smoke in places such as places as parks, playgrounds, the patios of bars and restaurants, and expanding that distance to doorways beyond provincial regulations. Today there are 71 communities.”
Klitch says that the Society is concerned that the protection is geographically skewed and inconsistent.
She says a lot of communities in more rural and remote areas do not have protection for people when they’re outside enjoying public places with their families.
The City of Williams Lake prohibited public smoking in and around public spaces in February of 2015, with Quesnel having followed suit.
Klitch says that although the province has the lowest smoking rate anywhere in Canada at 14%, a recent report has indicated that a third of youth in grades 10 through 12 have tried tobacco products.
BC Health Minister Terry Lake suggested on Twitter Tuesday on increasing the legal smoking age from 19 to 21.