Designated smoking rooms aren't the answer

The Record (Waterloo Region)
Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Those of us who work in tobacco control have learned that no matter what steps governments take to control the No. 1 cause of preventable disease and death in Ontario, the tobacco industry never goes away. Karen Bodirsky's June 9 letter supporting ventilation as an alternative to smoke-free policies is a case in point.

Bodirsky's Fair Air Association of Canada (FAAC) receives a substantial part of its funding from the tobacco industry. The FAAC is fond of citing the use of designated smoking rooms in other provinces as justification for their use here in Ontario.

Prior to their approval for use in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Quebec -- and in bylaws in the Greater Toronto Area, Niagara Region and Hamilton -- little was known about the real effectiveness of such smoking rooms, or their capacity for misuse.

Experience with their construction in the Greater Toronto region during the past four years has made several things abundantly clear. First, some proprietors misuse these smoking rooms by leaving doors open, turning ventilation systems off, allowing children into them and, in some circumstances, requiring staff to work in them.

Second, they simply don't work well. A test of 35 York Region smoking rooms last year found that about three-quarters did not function properly. Third, and most important, they undermine fair competition, since only establishments with the size and the funding to build them can do so.

The fact that some governments endorsed their use without understanding their ineffectiveness or potential for misuse -- or the fact that their use is a key strategic objective of the tobacco industry -- does not justify their adoption in Ontario.

If anyone needs further proof of how well smoke-free works, they only need to look at the success of Waterloo Region's 100 per cent smoke-free bar and restaurant bylaw.

Michael Perley, Director
Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco
Toronto