Toronto preparing to toughen outdoor smoking ban, joining other major Canadian cities

It's going to get tougher to light up in Toronto if the city's chief medical officer has his way.

CBC News reports Dr. David McKeown wants the city and the Ontario government to extend smoking bans to cover beaches, sports fields and the entrances to public buildings, where you often see nicotine-crazed public workers huddling for a few relaxing drags. Smokers could also no longer light up anywhere on hospital grounds (it's now restricted to within 30 feet of a hospital entrance) and uncovered bar patios.

“Other Ontario municipalities have done this to varying levels,” McKeown told CBC News. “It’s the next logical step to protecting people against smoking."

The proposals, which would need provincial approval, drew predicable fire from the bar and restaurant sector, as in other jurisdictions where owners complained existing bans had cost them business.

[ Related: Experts question evidence of harm from outdoor smoking ]

Comments attached to the report tabled Monday before the Toronto Board of Health said owners prefer the status quo because it "provides operators and customers with flexibility to smoke or not smoke as desired," the National Post reported.

The Post noted Toronto is one of the last major cities to still permit smoking on open patios.

According to Statistics Canada data reported by CBC News last May, only about one in five Canadians smokes, with British Columbia reporting the lowest rate at 15.8 per cent. The highest rate is found in Nunavut, with 59.7 per cent.

[ Related: Broader smoking ban called for in B.C. ]

Canadian provinces and territories already have extensive smoking bans covering almost everywhere indoors (except private homes), plus some outdoor spaces. Layered onto that, many cities have their own bylaws covering public parks, beaches and outdoor patios at restaurants and bars.

This table compiled by the Non-Smokers' Rights Association lists all the local bylaws that exceed provincial standards in force as of last year.

B.C. municipalities feature some of the strictest in the country. Vancouver, for instance, prohibits smoking in a park, on a seawall, public beach and any public-service area, including open patios and sidewalks where alcohol is served. Smoking in a bus shelter is also a no-no in most major B.C. cities.

Quebec, with a smoking rate of 21 per cent, is one of the few holdouts, barring smoking on patios with more than two sides and a roof, with no municipal bylaws extending the restrictions as of last year.

[ Related: Harsher smoking ban hits Ottawa ]

Some Ontario cities have blazed the trail for expanded smoking bans. Kingston barred smoking on patios in 2003, Ottawa redefined "public place" to include outdoor bars and restaurant patios last year and expanded the ban to cover outdoor stalls at the touristy ByWard Market.

Most municipalities also prohibit smoking in places where there are children, such as near playgrounds.

McKeown told CBC News children are especially vulnerable to second-hand smoke in places like patios and public parks.

“These are places where when there are multiple people smoking, the exposure to second-hand smoke can actually be quite significant, where that exposure can be experienced by children and families and where it can be difficult to avoid it just by moving away," he said.