O’Hanlon’s bans smoking on outdoor patio
Decision ‘ahead of the game’ in terms of provincial, municipal legislation
We chatted with customers and staff, and we felt this was the right thing to do for everyone.
At O’Hanlon’s Irish Pub on Scarth Street, manager Kurtis Tokarchuk is marking World No Tobacco Day by permanently outlawing both smoking and the use of e-cigarettes on the pub’s outdoor patio.
His thinking is simple: “It’s for the best.”
Tokarchuk said he wanted to get “ahead of the game” before a full ban comes in, which he said is “inevitable.”
O’Hanlon’s has also banned ecigarettes both inside and out, and hopes its move will encourage others to do the same.
Nationwide, smoke-free patio laws are increasingly the norm, with Winnipeg and Regina now the only two major cities that still allow patio smokers. Saskatchewan itself has not yet passed a patio smoking ban.
Saskatoon banned lighting up on patios as long ago as 2004, but Regina has yet to do so, instead taking the provincial line.
New legislation in Quebec will see fines of up to $25,000 for bars and restaurants that repeatedly fail to enforce an outdoor smoking ban.
Tokarchuk said he had put the decision to his staff, and though “the vast majority” of his team are themselves smokers, they opted for the change.
“We chatted with customers and staff, and we felt this was the right thing to do for everyone,” he said.
“We’ve floated the news in the past few days, and haven’t had any kickback. People are very accommodating.”
Previous downtown pubs to voluntarily go smoke-free outdoors include The Beer Bros, which put that rule in place some eight years ago.
“This is an issue where public opinion and public health say the same thing — it’s time,” said Donna Pasiechnik, manager of tobacco control for the Canadian Cancer Society.
A 2015 phone survey of Regina residents commissioned by health groups found 70 per cent of respondents favoured a ban on smoking on restaurant and bar patios.
More than half of those surveyed said that having a smoker nearby had forced them to move seats or even leave a patio.
At The Fat Badger on Scarth Street, general manager David Waller said he had never seen a customer leave over outdoor smoking, but that his bar has been toying with a full ban.
Presently, smoking on their patio is forbidden from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday to Friday.
“Most people like it,” Waller said. “They don’t want people smoking around them. We’re seriously considering extending it.”
Yet as the debate continues on whether smoke-free bylaws should be extended to patios and other outdoor recreational areas, it appears no change is imminent.
“Smoking bans for patios are not being considered at this time,” a City of Regina spokesperson said in an emailed response.
“The City follows provincial legislation with regard to bans on smoking.”