No smoking near Toronto water play areas

Smoking is prohibited around Toronto wading pools and splash pads.

©Image from BigStockPhoto.com

Smokers will no longer be welcome within 9 m (29 ft) of Toronto playgrounds, splash pads or wading pools.

City council passed a bylaw banning smoking near water play areas for children this past January. Anyone caught smoking near a playground or children's water facility will be fined. The ban will take effect as soon as the province sets the amount of the fine, with the city asking for it to be set at $305.

Toronto already has a smoking ban in place in restaurants, as well as a new provincial law banning smoking in vehicles carrying children.

The new bylaw, which was carried by a 31-6 vote, will also apply to other city-run outdoor areas that attract children, such as city-owned zoos and farms. Prohibiting smoking in the city's 833 playgrounds is designed to reduce the exposure to second-hand smoke.