WHERE IS SMOKING ALLOWED IN PUBLIC?
WHERE IS SMOKING ALLOWED IN PUBLIC?
The Tobacco Control Act
The Tobacco Control Act was passed in 2012 and seeks to regulate the following: –
- Prevent tobacco use by children;
- Regulate tobacco use by individuals;
- Protect individuals from exposure to tobacco smoke;
- Prohibit and restrict promotional practices;
- Prevent smuggling of tobacco, among other matters.
This law defines the act of smoking as “inhaling, exhaling or handling an ignited or heated tobacco product or a tobacco product producing emissions by any means;”
It also defines the term “Tobacco Product” as any product entirely or partly made from the leaf of the tobacco as raw material which is manufactured to be used for smoking, sucking, chewing or snuffing.
Vaping
The use of Vaping devices therefore falls within the definition of smoking as it: –
- Produces an emission;
- Is a heated product;
- Is consumed through inhaling and exhaling.
The Vaping device therefore also falls withing the definition of a Tobacco product as the vaping oils contain additives which are made in part from the Tobacco leaf. The Tobacco control act therefore also applies to the use of vaping devices as well.
Smoking and Non-Smoking Areas
Smoking of Tobacco and Cannabis products are allowed on private premises whether enclosed or otherwise. Smoking of all Cannabis products are prohibited in all public areas, whether enclosed or otherwise.
Section 12 of the Act states the following:-
“(1) No person shall smoke or hold a lighted tobacco product in any enclosed public place, enclosed workplace, or public conveyance…”
In the interpretation section the Act sought to define what is meant by “public place”: –
“Any place accessible to the general public or place of collective use, regardless of ownership or right of access;”
What that simply means is that a public space is any place that members of the general public has access to.
The Act also defines “enclosed’: –
“enclosed”, in relation to a space, means any space covered by a roof completely or substantially enclosed, with the term substantially enclosed meaning more than fifty per cent
closed to the outside air;”
This means that all public places which allows smoking must ensure that only Fifty Percent or less of the area can be enclosed by roof and walls.
The Act also prohibits smoking in all workplaces, and defines this as “any place used by persons during their employment or work and includes vehicles, common areas,
and any other area which is generally used during the course of employment or work, but does not include private residences or private vehicles.”
Public Facilities
The law goes on to prohibit the smoking of Tobacco in the following areas: –
- Public transportation terminals;
- Workplaces;
- Retail establishments including bars, restaurants; and
- Shopping malls;
- Clubs;
- Cinemas;
- Concert halls;
- Sports facilities;
- Pool and bingo halls;
- Publicly owned facilities rented out for events; and
- Any other facilities that are accessible to the public.
“Other facilities that are accessible to the public” may include in and around schools, hospitals, airports and police and fire stations.
Restriction on Areas of Sale
The Act also restricts the sale of all Tobacco products from certain public places: –
“No person shall sell tobacco products in any of the following places:
- Facilities where health care services are provided;
- Sports, athletic or recreational facilities;
- Government buildings; and
- Educational facilities.
Smoking in Vehicles
The smoking of Tobacco is also prohibited in all modes of public conveyance, which is described in the Act as “any form or mode of transportation that carries passengers for hire or reward, whether domestically or internationally;”
This means that smoking is prohibited on all PTSC buses, privately hired or public Maxi Taxis and Taxis, Ferries and airplanes. Smoking is not even allowed in the open or uncovered spaces in ferries.
Smoking is allowed in a private vehicle whether or not it contains passengers, once the driver has not been paid any fare.
Penalties
The Act states that if a person is found smoking or holding a lighted tobacco product in any enclosed public place, enclosed workplace, or public conveyance, he or she will be liable on summary conviction to a fine of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) and to Imprisonment to six (6) months.
The Act also goes on to state, however, that the manager, owner or lessee of the place where the offence occurred or who authorised the smoking, shall be deemed to be personally responsible as well, and liable to the same fine and term of imprisonment as the smoker himself. This therefore makes a bar owner, for instance, liable if someone smokes a cigarette inside their enclosed bar.
In its Declaration the Tobacco Control Act seeks to warn the public of the hazards of smoking Tobacco products: –
“Smoke from this product contains extremely addictive nicotine and toxic substances such as tar and carbon monoxide. No safe level of consumption exists for this product”
Submitted by: Nicholas Rampersadsingh
PD II Senior
Public Defenders’ Department
Legal Aid and Advisory Authority,
23 Stanmore Avenue, Port of Spain.
Contact: 638-5222
Email: pdd@laaa.gov.tt
Website: laaa.org.tt