20 Oct 2009
by: SMDHU
A lesson most young students have already learned is now being shared with parents and the community with new signs going up outside elementary schools this fall. The lesson: Smoking is prohibited on school property––anywhere, anytime by anyone.
“We are working in partnership with the Ministries of Health Promotion and Education to ensure that all visitors to the schools are aware of and adhere to the law,” says John Niddery, tobacco program supervisor leading the education and enforcement initiative. “It’s not a new law, but it’s one that has been misunderstood. People need to know that the law, making all school grounds 100-per-cent smoke free is in effect at all times.”
That means parents waiting to pick up their children, community groups using the facilities after school hours or on weekends, or anyone on the grounds to use the sports fields are expected to obey the law, Niddery explained.
Anyone caught smoking or holding lit tobacco products on school property faces a $305 fine for a first offence. The maximum fine is $5,000. But Niddery explained the intent is to help people do the right thing and be a positive role model for youth, not catch people doing the wrong thing.
Schools are being encouraged to remind parents about the law through school newsletters and by displaying posters that are being delivered by the health unit’s tobacco enforcement officers along with the signs.
Tobacco use remains the number one cause of preventable death and disease in Canada, killing more than 36,000 Canadians annually.
“Anyone who has ever been addicted to tobacco products will tell you it’s extremely hard to quit, yet so easy to start. At the end of the day we want our youth to make healthy lifestyle choices that include choosing to be tobacco free,” Niddery said. “We all need to do our part to help.”
To view the signage and get more information about tobacco-free living visit the health unit website at www.simcoemuskokahealth.org.
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