Smoking down the slopes

Watching cyclists racing down the bike trails and skiers loading onto the gondola at Whistler, B.C, it may not seem as though the scenic resort would see much in the way of a lung-killing habit such as smoking. But take a closer look and you can usually find a skier lighting up on a chairlift or a snowboarder blazing in the glades.

In what largely looks like a PR stunt to correspond with World No Tobacco Day, Whistler Blackcomb, the company that owns the ski resort, announced last Friday it will be banning all forms of smoking on its property as of the end of the month (employees will be given a one-year grace period, provided they use designated smoking areas). The ban covers all property owned by the company, in or out of doors, including lifts, runs, bike trails, parking lots and patios.

In theory, the new policy goes much further than most municipal or provincial smoking bans — even prohibiting the use of medical marijuana and electronic cigarettes. It remains somewhat theoretical because B.C. law and the town’s municipal bylaws already prohibit smoking in many public places and it is unclear if the resort actually has the legal authority to penalize people for lighting up half a mile from anywhere on the side of a mountain.

The company says the decision was motivated by a desire “to pre- serve the pristine alpine environment our guests come here for,” to create a healthy environment for customers and staff and to prevent forest fires. If that is indeed the purpose, the ban makes little sense.

Although smoking is certainly a health hazard, and can definitely lead to forest fires, the evidence of risk is less clear in the case of brief exposure to second-hand smoke in a well-ventilated area, such as the top of a mountain. Nor is there evidence that second-hand vapours from ecigarettes pose any risks at all (they certainly don’t cause fires). In some cases, the new policy will simply be penalizing people who legitimately need to use medical marijuana to treat their pain or other ailments, not to mention the resort’s hardworking staff, some of whom just want to relax with a cigarette during their break.

Of course, as a private company, operating on its own property, Whistler Blackcomb is within its rights to ban what it likes — in the same way as its patrons are free to take their custom elsewhere. Ultimately, consumers will decide. Those who wish may continue to enjoy a smoke while barrelling down the slopes of Banff or elsewhere, while those whose greatest pleasure consists in denying others theirs can revel in Whistler’s suffocating embrace.