Penticton

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Okanagan Lake beach

The Penticton city council will discuss banning smoking at public beaches at their meeting tonight, Monday.

The issue has moved to the forefront, because the West Okanagan Lake Waterfront is one of the council's priorities and proposed bylaw amendments support that priority by introducing smoking restrictions on beaches.

Smoking in public places has also become an issue of public interest over the last few years, based on the following facts included in the staff report:

The main cause of lung cancer is smoking.

Non-smokers who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke, have a higher risk of contracting lung cancer and heart disease and increased risk of cancer in other organs of the body.

Second hand smoke is linked to the deaths of at least 1,100 Canadians every year, 300 of them from  lung cancer.

Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in Canada.

A similar ban has already been imposed on Kelowna beaches.