Prince George City Council has voted unanimously, passing a bylaw that will see stricter rules on public vaping.
Starting May 1, 2017, vaping will be prohibited in playgrounds, public parks, sports fields, recreational areas, and trails held by the city; the same rules that apply for chewing tobacco.
E-cigarette users will also stand at least six metres away from public transit stops.
Northern Medical Health Officer Dr. Andrew Gray says this is a win for his professional community.
“We still want to preserve people’s clean air from the potential harmful effects of vapour and using drug vapour, as well as making it not so visible so that younger people are not encouraged to take that up.”
One initiative to start this process is to educate schools on the dangers of vaping and according to Dr. Gray, smoking rates, especially among young people, are higher in the North than the entire province.
“I definitely want to see less youth smoking,” said Justine Powar, a Grade 12 student from Prince George Secondary who attended the council meeting.
She was accompanied by her fellow classmate Denisa Daduica, who adds this is an issue at her school.
“We should really move forward in our community into really helping move these by-laws, and just to get rid of smoking as much as we can and not make it as popular as it seems to be.”
In 2015, a survey of Prince George residents saw more than 80% in favour of passing the bylaw.
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