Smoking on a patio creates air quaility comparable to a forest fire: researcher

MONTREAL — Even on an outdoor patio, second-hand cigarette smoke can produce air quality comparable to a smoggy day in Los Angeles or even a forest fire, new research contends.

The findings are based on a series of air quality tests performed on Montreal patios.

Ryan Kennedy, a university researcher, said he found poor air quality even when there was a breeze and no restrictions blocking the flow of air, such as an awning or umbrella.

“I think what’s important is for us to remember that tobacco smoke is a Class A carcinogen, and any level of exposure bears a risk,” Kennedy, based at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., said in an interview Saturday.

Anti-tobacco advocates hope the findings will lead the rest of the country to adopt a patio smoking ban — something that was done by the Capital Regional District in 2007.

Several provinces have banned smoking on patios, including Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Alberta. Yukon has also introduced a ban, as have a number of municipalities including Ottawa.

Quebec is among the provinces that has so far resisted going that route.

Montreal, in particular, is well-known for its sidewalk cafés and bars.

Peter Sergakis, the head of the province’s bar owner association, said he’s skeptical of the study and plans to conduct his own tests. “Everybody made terraces so our customers can go out and smoke. And now they’re telling us they can’t smoke there. What’s going to be next — they can’t smoke on the sidewalk?”

Kennedy said some of the air quality measurements he recorded on patios were on par with with levels recorded in Kelowna when forest fires ravaged the region in 2003.