TORONTO - Ontario's proposed ban on smoking on restaurant and bar patios in addition to playgrounds and sports fields is welcomed by anti-smoking activists but not some businesses.
The Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association says some of its members fear they will lose business if customers can no longer smoke on their patios, and complains the government never consulted the industry about the change.
However, groups like the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation applaud the proposed smoking ban on patios.
Health Minister Deb Matthews says she's just like the majority of people who don't want to be exposed to second hand smoke.
Matthews also announced a ban on sales of tobacco on college and university campuses and the doubling of fines for stores that sell cigarettes to minors.
And she said Ontario will also move to prohibit all sales of candy- and fruit-flavoured tobacco products, expanding the existing ban on sales of those items to minors.
