Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services

Hay River (Jan 21/02) - A smoker for over 30 years, Hay River town councillor and jail warden Tom Hamilton butted out four years ago.

Today he's leading a charge for a bylaw that will force restaurant owners, bingo operators and others to choose between allowing smoking or people under 18.

Ex-smoker Tom Hamilton is leading Hay River into a strict no-smoking bylaw. - Dave Sullivan/NNSL photo

He spoke with News/North about the proposed new law, and his feelings toward youths and smoking.

NN: Bingo is big here. How will the game be affected?

Hamilton: The law will decrease the area that people are allowed to smoke. If there are going to be persons under 18 allowed into the area, then there's no smoking. Bingos have still been successful even though they've gone totally non-smoking. Fort Rae, for example, had a bingo hall go completely non-smoking and they still have lots of people showing up for bingo.

Smoking wouldn't be banned in bingo halls. What would be banned is young persons in bingo halls that allow smoking. It will be their choice to make it a non-smoking bingo or eliminate the youth in there.

NN: All kinds of grassroots community groups rely on bingo revenue for good causes. What kind of resistance are you encountering?

Hamilton: I personally have not had one person approach me with a negative comment about the smoking bylaw, and we've been working on it since summer.

NN: What prompted you to want this law?

Hamilton: The administration of the town brought the smoking bylaw forward for us to review. At that time Coun. (Glenn) Smart said we should take a look at this, to prevent the youth in from smoking in our community. To make it harder for them. I agreed with him and I started doing some research, looking around at other communities that had gone with strict smoking bylaws. Some places had gone

totally non-smoking in public places and the response had been phenomenal. People who didn't go out to restaurants are now going out to restaurants. In some places the bars have gone totally smoke-free. People have seen an increase in business in those places because people who wanted to go out to have a few drinks in the bar. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but non-smokers have a place they can relax and unwind too.

NN: In a bar, is it 10 per cent of the space that has to be set aside for non-smoking?

Hamilton: Yes.

NN: The way it's worded, other businesses, like restaurants will have to decide whether to ban youths or cigarettes.

Hamilton: One of the reasons we went this way is because it will be their decision to make. People out there are talking how smokers have rights too, and I agree with them. I think smokers have rights, but they don't have a right to put smoke in my lungs.

One of the reasons I quit smoking was because it was unhealthy for me. With all the evidence out there in the world to tell us how unhealthy smoking is, it just didn't make sense to me and it didn't make sense to subject my family and friends and people I work and associate with.

NN: Should the bylaw go even further?

Hamilton: A lot of people are saying it doesn't go far enough.

NN: How could it go further?

Hamilton: No smoking anywhere.

NN: Who is going to enforce this?

Hamilton: It's a bylaw, so it would have to be our bylaw officer. There may be some restaurants that choose to ignore it and take their chances with being fined $500. But I honestly believe the restaurants are going to find, for one thing, it's healthier for their staff.

Wherever there has been a bylaw passed that has reduced the amount of smoke that is allowed in a community, places like restaurants have actually had an increase in business.