On Monday smokers in B.C. will be a little more limited in where they can smoke, especially if they like to have a puff or two while drinking a cold beer and watching Monday night football.
B.C. is extending anti-smoking bylaws, taking away the use of enclosed smoking rooms as well as limiting where people can stand (no doorways, near windows or the sides of building in public places). Here on the Sunshine Coast, some pubs that still have smoking rooms are doing their best to accommodate their smoking customers.
Brian Inkster, owner/manager of Gilligan's Pub in Sechelt, said they are in the process of extending their patio as an extension of the current enclosed smoking room so customers can still come in for a drink and a bite to eat. Inkster said as soon as his building permit is in hand, it shouldn't take long for the patio to be finished.
Inkster is philosophical about the change both for his business and for his smoking patrons. He said it's probably just a matter of time before smoking on outside patios is banned as well. The ongoing restrictions are something smokers and business owners like him are getting used to. However, he said even though people will gripe, everyone eventually gets used to the changes. "It's probably good for smokers in the long run, to get to the point where they will have to get up and take a walk outside to have a smoke," said Inkster. Until then, Gilligan's is going to do what they can to make sure its smoking customers are as comfortable as possible.
Nikee Kranuik, a manager at the Lighthouse Pub, said they knew about the new smoking bylaws coming into place in January, and the new enclosed smoking area that was part of the recent remodelling is in the process of being dismantled.
"It's just the cost of doing business, and wherever possible and for as long as possible, to find ways of providing a comfortable space for smoking customers," she said.
She said the Lighthouse is lucky because it already has a fairly large patio with a smoking section that will be available to customers.
