July 10th, 2008
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This news item is more than a year old. Links, graphics, content, medical information, and statistics may be out of date. We invite you to search, visit our homepage, or contact us to find more current information on the topic you're looking for.Restaurateur right to back smoking ban
The StarPhoenix, Monday, January 05, 2004
At long last, we hear some sense about Saskatoon's proposed smoking ban from a member of the city's restaurant trade.
Reade Hayden, a manager at the Spadina Freehouse, told The StarPhoenix last week that the time is right for a full smoking ban, with no exceptions. As Hayden said, "It's not the public that's saying, 'I want to smoke and drink.' It's the public that's saying, 'We want more room in non-smoking'."
The Freehouse is already 65 per cent to 70 per cent smoke-free. But that means up to 35 per cent of it is still producing cigarette smoke, so inevitably (no matter how good the ventilation system is) everyone in the restaurant is affected by it.
It's worth remembering that only one-third of the smoke produced by a cigarette is inhaled by the smoker. The rest goes into the air -- and into other people's lungs. Second-hand smoke contains nearly three times as much nicotine, 70 per cent more tar and 2.5 times more carbon monoxide than the smoke inhaled by the smoker, according to the Canadian Lung Association.