a rein ah of eel pall mace, ee eI OHA SALI BRE TOP STORY i @ Continued from Page 1 __ “Smokers will still be able to smoke, but only where appropriate,” Boyd said. There is increasing medical =-evidence that second-hand smoke (from idling cigarettes, cigars and pipes) is harmful to the health of those who are involuntarily exposed. This, and the fact second-hand smoke | can cause illness, disease or prema- @ ture death, is the reason the CRD is | proposing the bylaw. The bylaw states that a person who operates a business may decide to make the premises non-smoking or may designate smoking areas. These gy 27eas are only permitted in the fol- lowing places, and are subject to cer- tain conditions concerning | ventilation, size and location: ex- tended care and long-term care facilities; restaurants; licenced premises; bowling alleys; bingo halls; and workplaces. 5 Boyd said a “designated” area must She an enclosed room to which non- smoking employees do not require access. And it must be separately ventilated away from the rest of the workplace. Other than in a designated area, A nti-smoking bylaw beefed up in January Continued from Page 1 But the 22 per cent shows that the majority of people do not smoke. And a number of British Columbians have kicked the habit, Popham said. Dr. Shaun Peck, district medical health officer, told This Week that B.C. has the lowest rate of adults who smoke. “People with less education j . tend to smoke more.” (<<. —Lael Popham “We're doing pretty well. Over the last 10 to 15 years, there used to be at least 30 per cent of adults who smoked.” Peck confirmed that more , women are starting to smoke at an early age, and that it is g alarming to hear that lung | ‘cancer, largely due to smok- ing, has exceeded breast can- A WELCOME MAT of a different kind greets smokers today as they enter both publicly and privately Owned buildings — attitudes have changed. cer in women. The big challenge is prevent- ing these females from smok- WITH NEW ANTI-SMOKING LAWS, smokers are being forced outside. ' GETTING TOUGH WITH SMOKERS “no person shall carry or have in his possession a burning cigarette, cigar or pipe in a public premise, a workplace or an educational facility.” The final stage (Jan. 1, 1992) of the bylaw includes prohibiting smoking anywhere in the workplace. Not even designated smoking areas will be permitted. A big question arises as to how the CRD is going to enforce the bylaw effectively. Some smokers are bound to flout the law out of resentment or simple forgetfulness. Some may find it hard to remember where theyre not supposed to smoke, especially after the new bylaw comes into effect. Boyd told This Week the CRD will hire a part-time public health inspec- tor to enforce the bylaw. This position will be a first for the region, she noted. The inspector will act on complaints about people contravening the bylaw by smoking where they shouldn’t be. He may or may not lay charges, Boyd said. The main role of the inspector will be to speak to employees and explain the bylaw, she noted. The primary thrust will be public awareness. More women start puffi Ing_ much earlier smoke-free for the health of people who don’t smoke, Popham said. “In some cities in the U.S., they're looking at bylaws to totally eliminate smoking in all restaurants,” she noted. “I work with a lot of people who have asthma — they find it very difficult to dine out Gn Greater Victoria).” ‘In some cities in the U.S., they're looking at bylaws to eliminate smoking in all res- taurants.* — Lael Popham The Environmental Protec- tion Agency states that second-hand smoke is a can- cer-causing agent, Popham said, noting that non-smokers develop lung disease due to breathing in the smoke from cigarettes. The smoke from the tip is not filtered as it is when smokers drag on a cigarette, so non- Photos by CHUCK RUSSELL = smokers get the full effect of the smoke, Popham noted. ing. That’s why schools are trying to reach out to teenage girls before they decide to start, Peck noted. # Schools are concentrating on the peer pressure aspect in | helping young women make the wise decision, he added. Peck said that a pregnant woman who smokes runs the risk of adversely affecting her unborn child. Smoking con- tributes to low birth weight because it cuts off proper blood circulation. Research shows that children at home suffer respiratory problems if their __ parents smoke, Peck added. The major causes of death are heart disease and cancer, the health officer pointed out. In 1988, 2,736 people died in the Capital Region. Smoking was a contributing factor in these deaths, Peck said. But Popham believes the number of smokers has decreased due to more infor- mation, which has increased the awareness of the health risks of tobacco smoke. A lot of 40-year-olds are ex- smokers who started when they were teenagers, Popham said. The director thinks the CRD’s Clean Air Bylaw is a good move towards eliminat- ing smoking in all buildings. The bylaw is not saying you have to quit smoking, but rather, public places should be She said a study was done in Japan, involving non-smoking wives living with smoking husbands. The rate of lung disease was higher in these wives compared to non-smok- ing women living with men who didn’t smoke.