TORONTO - Ontario is unlikely to criminalize teen smoking despite a private member's bill that would make it illegal for people under age 19 to smoke or possess cigarettes.
Such bills rarely become law, and the Liberal government strongly hinted Wednesday it would use its majority to defeat the proposal.
Progressive Conservative Gerry Martiniuk of Cambridge introduced the bill, but even he admitted the best course of action would be to lower taxes to eliminate illegal cigarettes.
"I am concerned with the low price of illegal tobacco, a problem which we are all aware is making smoking affordable for our young people to experiment with," said Martiniuk.
"The sale of these illegal cigarettes is largely in the hands of organized crime, and they are targeting our young people and, by the way, with other illegal drugs to sell."
Even though it's illegal in Ontario to sell cigarettes to people under age 19, the law doesn't prevent them from smoking.
The best alternative to outlawing teen smoking would be to eliminate illegal cigarettes and the province could do that by lowering tobacco taxes -- as it did 10 years ago, said Martiniuk.
Fellow Conservative Toby Barrett said illegal smoke shacks have been set up on Ontario government land along Highway 6 in his Haldimand-Norfolk riding, and are known to sell to local kids.
"It's not uncommon for local people to see young people visit that particular smoke shack and ride back with a bag of rollies or cigarettes on the handlebars of their bicycles," said Barrett.
"If this government would crack down on illegal cigarettes I feel that this particular bill would perhaps be unnecessary."
It doesn't make sense that it's illegal to sell cigarettes to people under age 19 but the law doesn't prevent them from smoking, said Martiniuk.
"Just as it's illegal for a person under 19 to possess or consume alcohol, I believe this same age group should be prohibited from possessing or using tobacco products," he said.
"I am committed to exploring ways of reducing the incidence of smoking among our young people, and hope this bill will prevent them from developing a life-long addiction to nicotine."
Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best indicated Wednesday that the Liberal government would not back Martiniuk's bill.
"We want to ensure that they don't start to smoke in the first place, and we do not want to criminalize the young people, that is definitely not our intent," said Best.
"We want adults to take responsibility for ensuring that children are armed with the knowledge of how dangerous it is for them to smoke."
The Ontario Convenience Stores Association said it fully supports Martiniuk's bill, calling a ban on young people smoking long overdue.
"Kids shouldn't be allowed to obtain, possess or use tobacco. It's just that simple," said Association spokesman David Bryans.
"Right now, Ontario laws in this area make no sense whatsoever."
Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak also refused to endorse Martiniuk's bill, saying he never interferes in private member business and let's his caucus vote freely on such measures.
