Welcome to the website of the Ottawa Council on Smoking and Health.

We are a volunteer organization that aims to:

• create a social environment where non-smoking is the norm
• assist in establishing smoke-free environments
• prevent youth from starting to smoke
• encourage smokers to quit
• advocate for better smoking cessation resources.

We were established in 1978, making us one of the oldest Councils on Smoking and Health in Ontario. We are one of 64 local councils that make up the Ontario Tobacco-Free Network.

These are exciting times in tobacco control. In 2006, the Province of Ontario went smoke-free and Canada’s Senate unanimously endorsed a Smoke-Free Canada motion. Locally, the Westin Hotel, Marriott Hotels, the Ottawa International Airport, the Ottawa Hospital, the Queensway Carleton Hospital, the Montfort Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario all introduced 100% smoke-free policies.

The issue of drifting second-hand smoke in apartment buildings, condominiums, townhouses and other housing units is gaining momentum. Individuals and families are increasingly aware and concerned about involuntary exposure to second-hand smoke drifting in from other units. We believe that anyone should be able to choose to live in housing that is 100% free of drifting second-hand smoke.

Join us if you support smoke-free initiatives!