Flin Flon, Man. grappling with possible Main Street smoking ban

A school project in Flin Flon is prompting politicians in the small city to consider a smoking ban along its main drag.

Mayor Cal Huntley said a proposed smoking ban currently under discussion would forbid smoking along the roughly three-block strip of Main Street in the city, located about 750 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

It would also bar puffing within 15 feet of any city business with more than two employees, said Huntley.

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A group of Grade 6 kids at Ruth Betts Community School formed a Tobacco Tackle Team and set out to clean Main Street of cigarette butts.

On June 28, they sent a letter to the city detailing their concerns with the environmental and health impacts smoking was having and asked if the area could go smoke-free.

"It had been an ongoing issue," Huntley told CBC. "They couldn't understand, given the health issues, why we had something like this going on."

Currently, the city, which has a population of about 5,900, is assessing feedback from local businesses which he said was "mostly favourable" with a few exceptions.

"Certainly we've had some comments that smokers don't want to be treated as second-class citizens and that's the last thing we want to do," said Huntley. Everybody has their rights, there's no doubt about that but we do believe that in a public venue — we're reviewing whether (allowing smoking) makes sense from a health and environment perspective."

In addition, a smoking ban will help clean up the main street and make it more welcoming, Huntley suggested.

"Who likes to walk through cigarette butts," Huntley asked. "Or who likes to walk through a group of people that are smoking?"

Ashtrays are already in place but many smokers still just flick their used butts to the ground, he said.

It remains to be seen how any new bylaw would be enforced, but the city does have an enforcement officer, said Huntley. Accommodations such as designated smoking areas are something being considered.

If a smoker is sitting in their car having a puff on Main Street, they won't be hassled, Huntley said.

"That's your business, that's not our business."

The city is continuing to gather and evaluate feedback before the proposed bylaw comes to a vote.