Province moves to ban smoking on patios, sale of cigarettes on college campuses

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Smokers will have to butt out on patios and in parks across the province as the Liberal government plans to reintroduce anti-smoking legislation.

The new legislation, which will take effect on Jan. 1, also prohibits the sale of tobacco products on college and university campuses.

The Liberals introduced the bill to update the Smoke-Free Ontario Act last fall, but it died when the June 12 election was called.

The government says the bill will replace a patchwork of municipal regulations governing smoking on patios and around playgrounds.

Indeed, Toronto city council banned smoking on sports fields and in parks last fall.

The bill would also extend a prohibition on selling flavoured cigarillos and chewing tobacco to youth to a total sales ban.

Other flavoured products such as twist sticks, dissolvable strips and lozenges are also banned if they contain tobacco, but not if they have only nicotine without tobacco.

The Canadian Cancer Society has warned the lozenges, which look like candies and come in colourful packages, contain three times as much nicotine as a smoked cigarette.

The government said tobacco-related disease costs Ontarios health care system an estimated $2.2 billion in direct health care costs and an additional $5.3 billion in indirect costs such as lost productivity.

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Province moves to ban smoking on patios, sale of cigarettes on college campuses