Ottawa City Council Votes Unanimously... On April 25, 2001, City Councillors took a courageous stand for health. After debate on several amendments that would have watered down the by-laws, all 22 members of Council voted in favour of 100% smoke-free by-laws for public places and workplaces, with no allowances for designated smoking rooms. Click here for the OCSH submission to City Council [you can download the Press Release and Opinion from www.smoke-free.ca]	"The leadership City Council has shown in putting health protection first means we can be proud of Ottawa's place as one of the first major cities to pass this kind of life-saving by-law." - Councillor Alex Munter, Chair of the City's Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee.
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Click here to go to the City of Ottawa Smoke-Free By-Laws website.	Welcome to the Smoke-Free Ottawa web site. This website is sponsored by the Ottawa Council on Smoking and Health. Our goal is to support the successful implementation of the City of Ottawa's new smoke-free public places and workplaces by-laws. Smoke-Free Ottawa is an initiative sponsored by the Ottawa Council on Smoking and Health, in partnership with Regional Heart Beat Committee, and Cancer Care Ontario Region East. From the outset, our goal has been to create a smoke-free city where all citizens are protected from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, where smokers are encouraged to quit, and where former smokers have help in remaining smoke-free.When Ottawa's smoke-free by-laws go into effect on August 1st, 2001, all citizens of Ottawa will be protected from second-hand smoke in all public places and workplaces. These include establishments such as restaurants, bars, pubs, bingo halls, bowling alleys, billiard halls, common areas of residential condominiums or multiple-dwelling apartment buildings, taxis and limousines, as well as more traditional workplaces. The Smoke-Free Ottawa by-laws will bring about a lot of changes. This website will provide residents of the City of Ottawa with a place to voice their concerns about implementation of the smoke-free by-laws and to obtain information on issues such as:- enforcement;- compliance;- PUBCO's threat of a legal challenge to the bylaws;- local support programs for smokers who want to quit;- smoke-free laws in other jurisdictions; and- up-to-date facts on the health risks of smoking and second-hand smoke. We hope you find this website useful. Visit regularly for breaking news on the implementation of Ottawa's smoke-free by-laws.