Smokers in Ontario and Quebec face a new, comprehensive ban on smoking in enclosed public places intended to protect the public from the hazards of secondhand smoke.
The changes, which took effect Wednesday, are a tougher sell in Quebec than in Ontario, where roughly 90 percent of residents already live under municipal smoking bans, said Michael Perley, an anti-tobacco activist with the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco.
"Quebec is going to take a big jump forward compared with Ontario," Perley said.
Quebec has the highest percentage of smokers in Canada, with 23 percent of the province's population lighting up -- but down from 34 percent in 1998, when the government banned smoking in the workplace. Only 19 percent of Ontario residents smoke.
In Windsor, Ontario, gambling operators say they fear that the ban will drive away the American visitors who are crucial to the economy of the Canadian border city.
About 80 percent of Casino Windsor customers come from nearby metropolitan Detroit and elsewhere in the United States. Casino Windsor said it was building two outside patio areas for smokers. The area will be heated in cold weather.
In Montreal, Francois Damphousse of the Non-Smokers' Rights Association held a news conference Tuesday to celebrate the ban.
"We haven't created any precedent in Quebec," he said. "We're just following in the footsteps of what's been done in many other jurisdictions."
New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Manitoba already have total bans on smoking in public places. Nova Scotia's ban takes effect at the end of the year.
Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard said the ban in his province would be immediately enforced by 75 undercover inspectors capable of issuing fines up to $10,000 Canadian (about $9,094 U.S.)
Ontario Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson said his province would allow for a reasonable grace period before issuing fines.
Some Ontario bars came up with innovative ways to welcome the ban.
John Janisse, owner of the Windsor Pub in Windsor, a city that previously had no smoke-free bylaw, said his establishment planned to give away souvenir ashtrays to smoking patrons Tuesday night.
"It's going to be somewhat low key," Janisse said. "There are some places that are doing a big `smoke your brains out' kind of event tonight, but we're just going to have a little fun with it."
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