Smoke-free Places Act

The Smoke-free Places Act requires on December 1, 2006 that all indoor workplaces and public places to be smoke-free. The Act requires all outdoor licensed areas and patios of all restaurants, lounges, beverage rooms and cabarets to be smoke-free.

Designated smoking rooms can be operated for the use of residents in health-care facilities for the acute or long-term care of veterans, in licensed nursing homes and residential care facilities and in homes for aged and disabled persons.

Click here for a copy of the Act

Overview of the Smoke-free Places Act

Total Smoking Ban

No smoking is permitted in the following enclosed places:

• daycare, pre-school
• school, community college or university [also, no smoking on school grounds]
• library, art gallery or museum
• health-care facility
• cinema or theatre
• video arcade, pool hall, billiards room
• recreational facility where the primary activity is physical
• recreation, including a bowling alley, fitness centre, gymnasium, pool or rink
• multi-service centre, community centre/hall, arena, fire hall or church hall
• meeting or conference room or hall, ballroom or conference centre
• retail shop, boutique, market or store or shopping mall
• laundromat
• ferry, ferry terminal, bus, bus station or shelter, taxi, taxi shelter, limousine or vehicle carrying passengers for hire
• common area of a commercial building or multi-unit residential building, including but not limited to corridors, lobbies, stairwells, elevators, escalators, escalators, eating areas, washrooms and restrooms
• restaurants, lounges, beverage rooms, private clubs, cabarets, clubs or other places licensed to serve alcoholic beverages
• bingos
• a casino complex
• a facility as defined in the Hospitals Act
• offices of the Government of the Province, a municipality, a village or a school board
• provincial jail, detention centre, or reformatory

Vehicles

• no smoking in vehicles used in the course of employment while carrying two or more employees

Restaurants

• no smoking at any time

Beverage rooms & Lounges

• no smoking at any time

Places used for Bingo

• no smoking at any time

Private clubs

• no smoking at any time

Casinos

• no smoking at any time

Licensed outdoor areas and patios

• The Act requires all outdoor licensed areas and patios of all restaurants, lounges, beverage rooms and cabarets to be smoke-free

Nursing home or residential care facility or a part of a health-care facility used for the acute or long-term are of veterans:

• Designated smoking rooms are permitted
• must be enclosed and separately ventilated
• only residents are permitted
• signs must be posted at the entrance

Building entrances

• no smoking within 4 metres of windows, air intake vents and entrances to places of employment

Tobacco Possession by Youth

• no youth under the age of 19 may possess tobacco
• tobacco possession is not an offence, however, peace officers with reasonable and probable grounds to believe that a person under 19 may be in possession of tobacco may confiscate tobacco.

Effective Date

• Comes into force on January 1, 2003

If you have any questions specific to the Smoke-free Places Act please call 1-800-565-3611.