Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Dec 08/04) - Just days into his 1993 vacation from his bartending job at the Royal Canadian Legion in Iqaluit, Dale Bardeau began to experience headaches, dizziness and nausea.

A battery of tests failed to determine the cause of the mysterious illness, so Bardeau's doctor asked him where he worked.

When Bardeau said the Legion -- perhaps the smokiest bar in Canada at the time, he recalled -- the diagnosis was clear.

Bardeau was suffering through the tell-tale symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, despite the fact he was a non-smoker.

"On a typical night, you would have more than 250 people in the bar, and just about every single one of them was smoking," said Bardeau, who has spent the last seven years working in Yellowknife.

The air was often so choked with second hand smoke it would be impossible to see across the room. Bardeau and his co-workers would go home in the evening covered in the smell of tar and alcohol.

"It actually led me to start smoking," he said.

Nearly a decade ago, the California government declared -- during a campaign to ban smoking in public places -- that waitressing was the single deadliest job in the state for women.

The claim was roundly criticized by the hospitality industry, but it became a signature moment in the campaign against second hand smoke -- a movement that spread to New York, Toronto, British Columbia and, following a hotly contested debate in the fall of 2003, Yellowknife.

At the time, city councillors hoped a bylaw that banned smoking in public places would not only improve working conditions for bartenders and servers, but also lead to an overall improvement in public health.

Now more than a year later, medical officials believe they are seeing the first signs that smoking and related illnesses are on the decline.

The number of smokers in the territory has dropped by six per cent in the last two years, according to a recent nationwide survey by Health Canada.

While the poll did not specifically address smoking rates in Yellowknife, where 25 per cent of adults light up, Dr. Andre Corriveau, NWT's chief medical health officer, said the ban likely played a role in the decrease.

"This is the first encouraging sign we have seen in years," said Corriveau, who told Yellowknifer rates have remained relatively constant for the last decade.

Corriveau expects to see an immediate drop in the number of people admitted to hospitals with acute respiratory disorders, though it will likely take years before doctors see a decrease in other ailments associated with smoking, including heart disease and lung cancer.

Eventually, the bans could prevent some of the estimated 1,000 annual Canadian deaths attributed to second hand smoke, he said.

The city bylaw has already discouraged some smokers like Bardeau from lighting up. The Black Knight Pub bartender has cut his consumption down to three cigarettes a day, down from nearly a pack last year.

"It might not be good for the bottom line," said Bardeau, referring to a precipitous drop in business at several bars. "But it is definitely healthier."

Shannon Warner, a 22-year-old waiter at Boston Pizza and a confirmed smoker, agreed that the bylaw has improved working conditions.

Smell that lingers

"I used to go home reeking of smoke," he said. "It was disgusting. The smell would be almost impossible to get out of your clothes."

While business -- and consequently, tips -- have dropped off in the last year, a smoke-free working environment is worth the sacrifice, said Bardeau.

"Given the choice, I prefer things the way they are now," he said. "It's nice to have clear air."

enforcement

When a city-wide ban on smoking came into effect last year, one bar owner described the measure as "unenforceable."

But despite an initial flurry of rebellion that accompanied the bylaw in October 2003 -- including two men who staged a "smoke-in" at the Black Knight Pub -- most businesses have fallen into line, said Doug Gillard, manager of Yellowknife's Municipal Enforcement Division.

A handful of complaints have been registered with the Workers' Compensation Board, which championed a territory-wide ban on smoking in work places that came into effect in May 2004.

Usually, WCB officials discuss possible violations with staff, to make sure they have a clear understanding of the law, said spokesperson Shawn McCann.

So far only one company, an Inuvik construction firm, was ticketed under the legislation and that case was dismissed in court.