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Letters June 1, 2002
RE "PUBCO hope to spread across province," (May 22):
The PUBCO story paints all the misconceptions that both PUBCO and the tobacco
industry (presumably a strong PUBCO supporter) would have us
believe.
Ottawa is no guinea pig. The same smoke free legislation has swept
through much of the United States, first at the municipal level and
later at the state level. The tobacco industry fears the municipal
level since it is at this level that local citizens get up and
speak before municipal councils, get out and organize and protect
their own environment.
The level playing field will happen when enough municipalities have
gone smoke free i.e. there is consensus. Ottawa will serve as an
excellent example of a bylaw that has worked and stuck. The Ottawa
bylaw has had strong support and a lot of people are now delighted
to either visit or work in a smoke free environment.
Smoke free makes it easier to quit and normalizes a smoke-free
country. It denormalizes tobacco in general. Second-hand smoke
kills normal people, smokers and non-smokers alike, through heart
disease and lung cancer. It makes children sick and adults with
lung disease are often affected by very short exposure. The rules
are about protecting the public who frequent these establishments
and the workers who work in them.
The main risk here is to the tobacco industry which stands to lose
big over time, but which has always excelled at having someone else
do their dirty work. PUBCO appears to be deeply immersed in the
dirt. The main benefit is health and clean air to all of us. Ottawa
is a much better town for this bylaw.
David S. Esdaile MD
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