Ottawa’s idea to ban smoking has raised a lot of questions, some of which come from the Barrie Fire Department who says fires caused by people smoking outside are on the rise.
More than five million Canadians smoke, and many of them don’t want to be told they can’t in their own home.
“It’s separate walls, and the neighbour can’t smell it, you’ve got ventilation. It’s nobody else’s issue,” says Barrie resident Randy Diver.
Health Canada’s proposal to ban smoking in apartments and condos, in order to reduce smoking rates, isn’t going over well with some landlords.
“How do you police it,” says Dan Henry, who owns a condo in Barrie. “Are people going to come to the door and check?”
The proposal is part of a plan to cut the number of Canadian smokers in at least half over the next eighteen years.
“If we had our way, nobody would smoke,” says Samantha Hoffmann with the Barrie Fire Department.
Barrie’s firefighters say now, more than ever they are seeing fires caused by people who smoke outside of their homes.
“We have seen an increase in the number of fires on exteriors of homes,” says Hoffmann. “We have a high number of fires that are caused every year from people carelessly discarding their cigarettes.
Cigarettes can burn up to three hours after they are tossed.
“We're finding [them] in garden mulch, people are putting it in between the wood on their deck. Especially this time of year…we've had some warm weather,” says Hoffmann.
For Fire officials the proposed ban would require more public education. But for smokers, it’s about common sense, and keeping personal freedoms.
“We live in Canada,” says Diver. “It’s supposed to be a free country, and it seems every year it gets worse and worse.”
The issue is only going to heat up, coming to a head in March 2018, when the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy expires. In the meantime, Health Canada is asking for feedback from all Canadians until mid-April.
