Montreal Announces Official Support Of Strict Anti-Smoking Laws
Back in May we told you about Quebec proposing Bill 44, which was going to seriously crack down on smoking laws across the province. If the bill goes through you will no longer be able to smoke on terrasses, smoke in a vehicles in the presence of someone under 16 years old, or sell/distribute flavoured smoking products.
Well now not only is the bill being reviewed with considerable support, but Montreal, along with 173 other Quebec municipalities, passed a resolution calling for even stricter laws to be put into place. They want smoking banned at outdoor sporting venues and children's sports games, and for tobacco manufactures to use plain packaging for their products (rather than the brightly coloured boxes that they say are "designed to look like smartphones").
The 174 municipalities have also said that they would like to see smoking rates drop by 10% over the next 10 years, which, considering the strong smoking culture in Quebec, seems almost impossible, but I guess quite a lot can change over 10 years. Public consultations are being held this week for Bill 44, so if have any issues with the new bill, it's your chance to let the city know exactly how you feel.
