The Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 (SFOA, 2017) regulates the use and retailing of tobacco and vapour products as well as the use of cannabis in workplaces and public places. The SFOA regulates the sale, supply, display and promotion of tobacco and vapour products. As well, it regulates where smoking of tobacco or cannabis and vaping of any substance is prohibited. The outdoor perimeter of certain spaces that must remain smoke-free and vape-free has been expanded under the SFOA, 2017.
The SFOA regulates smoking and vaping including:
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited inside workplaces and public places, including work vehicles, even when the premises is closed.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited on school property, and within 20 metres of the grounds.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in an outdoor shelter that has more than two walls and a roof if the public or employees are invited to use it (for example, a bus shelter or smoking shelter).
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited on bar and restaurant patios and within nine metres of public areas of those locations.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited inside a car or other motor vehicle with anyone under 16 years of age (cannabis use is banned at all times in a vehicle or boat being driven by or under someone's care of control).
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited on hospital property and other health care facilities and within nine metres of a hospital entrance.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited at community recreational facilities, and within 20 metres of the grounds.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited where home health care workers work.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in residential care facilities, certain veteran's and psychiatric facilities, and residential hospices.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in the entire premises of any child care centre of place that provides an early years program or service.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in the common indoor areas of multi-unit residences including condos, apartment buildings, and college and university residences.
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in hotels, motels, and inns (unless management has designated certain fully enclosed guest room(s) for smoking and/or vaping).
- Vaping and smoking tobacco and cannabis is prohibited in the reserved seating area of outdoor sports arenas or entertainment venues.
- Employers and business owners must post provincial No Smoking and No Vaping signage at their premises including entrances, exits, and washrooms. These signs are available at no cost form the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
Note: If you are an Indigenous person and live in a hospital, psychiatric facility, long-term care home, home for special care, community home for opportunity, or independent health facility, you may request and indoor area to use tobacco for traditional Indigenous cultural or spiritual purposes.
The SFOA, 2017 regulates retailing of tobacco and vapour products; please see general retailer information and the guide for retailers.
Fact Sheets
There are a number of fact sheets available with information on how the SFOA, 2017 affects the following:
Campuses - Child Care Centres - Community Recreational Facilities - Duty Free Retailers - Enclosed Public Places - Enclosed Workplaces - Flavoured Tobacco - Government Buildings - Home Health Care - Hospices - Hospitals - Hotels, Motels and Inns - Indigenous Persons - Manufacturers (Tobacco) - Manufacturers (Vapour) - Motor Vehicles - Multi-Unit Residences - Playgrounds - Residential Care Facilities - Restaurants and Bars - Retailers - Schools - Specialty Vape Stores - Sporting Areas - Tobacconists - Waterpipe
If you would like any of the above fact sheets, please contact Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520.
In the community, the health unit's tobacco enforcement officers are responsible for enforcing compliance of all indoor and outdoor places designated 100% smoke and vape-free under the SFOA, 2017. They are also responsible for the inspection and enforcement of all tobacco and vapour product retailers for compliance with the laws governing the sale, display and promotion of tobacco and vapour (vape) products.
To register a complaint about a workplace or public place not in compliance with the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, or a store that is selling to youth under 19 years of age, call or email Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 and a tobacco enforcement officer will follow up.
