Vaping now banned in public parks
Peterborough Public Health, city police team to enforce rules
Vaping and smoking medical marijuana are both now prohibited in public parks — just as smoking cigarettes is illegal there, too.
On Monday, city council voted a final time on a new bylaw that bans both vaping and smoking in places such as parks, playgrounds, ball diamonds and beaches.
It’s also not allowed at outdoor festivals such as Peterborough Musicfest.
The fine is $305.
On Tuesday, Peterborough Public Health announced it’s teaming up with the city, city police and Musicfest organizers to remind people it’s illegal to smoke in public places.
Police and public health officers will be enforcing the rule this summer — although one health promoter says most people obey.
Keith Beecroft, a health promoter with Peterborough Public Health, said most people who are smoking in public parks are “genuinely unaware” that it’s not allowed — and they’ll butt out if a police officer or bylaw enforcement officer tells them to.
“It’s only when there’s belligerence, or a refusal to comply, that the ticket book comes out,” he said.
Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, the medical officer of health, stated in a press release that there’s no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Meanwhile e-cigarettes and vapes both contain and emit toxic substances too, she states (citing a new report, called Public
Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes, released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration).
“We’re learning more about e-cigarettes and what’s in them,” Salvaterra stated in the release. “Just because e-cigarettes are less harmful than conventional cigarettes, that doesn’t make them harmless.”
New signs will be posted around Peterborough to alert people that smoking and vaping is prohibited in public spaces.
One of the signs points out that smoking and vaping is allowed in the parking lot at Del Crary Park (for those attending Musicfest).