There is a joke about Quebecers that says they smoke like it’s a cure for cancer.

Although the number of smokers in the province has dropped substantially over the past decade, the reputation persists and it’s with more than a little trepidation that Quebec counts down the days to a full-fledged ban on smoking in public places.

“This radical thing, it ain’t going to work. We’re not sheep, we don’t have to follow every little rule that comes out,” said Tony, who didn’t want to give his last name as stood outside a shop in downtown Montreal having a cigarette on Sunday.

“People come here because they know they can have a good time. Like in Europe, you can have your cigarette, you can have your beer, you can smoke anywhere you want. It’s fantastic.”

At the stroke of midnight marking May 31, smoking will be prohibited in restaurants, bars, private clubs, bingo halls and casinos along with all other facilities open to the public.

Bill 112 also forbids smokers from lighting up within nine metres of any doorway leading to a health or social services institution, college, university or child-care facility.

Businesses that fail to butt out face fines up to $10,000 for repeat offences. Individual smokers who flout the ban could be fined $87 for a first offence and up to $600 for repeated violations.

Health Minister Philippe Couillard, a doctor, said it’s a matter of public health.

“Remember that death by cancer in Quebec is higher than in the rest of Canada, in large part because we have a very high rate of lung cancer which is directly linked to tobacco,” Couillard told reporters last week.

“Our tobacco use rate is the highest in Canada, so the link is very clear.”

Actually, from 1995 to 2001, 26.1 per cent of Quebec smokers kicked the habit – more than in any other province.

According to Statistics Canada, 22 per cent of Quebecers smoked in 2004, less than New Brunswick at 24 per cent and on par with Newfoundland and Labrador.

Fifteen years ago, the province was “a smoker’s paradise,” said Jarrett Rudy, a historian at McGill University and author of The Freedom to Smoke: Tobacco Consumption and Identity.

“There was a feeling for a while that Quebec would never change, that people would continue smoking and no one would tell them differently.”

But even in freedom-loving Quebec, the tobacco tide has turned, he said.

“People are choosing their right to health over their right to smoke,” Rudy said.

Jean Lefebvre, vice-president of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservice Association in Quebec, said the ban will have a huge impact on the industry.

Industry groups estimate sales could drop by 15 to 20 per cent but Lefebvre conceded Quebec is part of a worldwide trend, he said.

“We fought for a couple of years but now basically it comes to an end,” he said. “We’ll have to cope with it.”

Source: Canada.com