The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Businesses in Creighton and Denare Beach are no longer required to hide their cigarettes from public view. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeals has struck down Section 6 of the province's Tobacco Control Act, which prohibited retailers from displaying tobacco products and posting certain signs regarding their availability. The court ruled last Friday that the section was inconsistent with federal tobacco laws, meaning that portion of the provincial law can no longer be enforced. Tim Coutts, owner of Coutts' Convenience Centre in Creighton, felt the law was pointless to begin with. "People are going to smoke because they want to smoke, not because they can see (cigarettes)," he said. "I don't think the law did anything either way." Coutts recently took down the paper that had been covering his tobacco stock after reading about the ruling in The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Other businesses across the province had been using a range of methods to conceal cigarettes, including cloths and cabinets. See 'Disappointed' P.# Con't from P.# Diane Therien of the local Committee for Smoke-Free Communities said she thought the law was useful. Therien, whose committee is trying to have smoking banned in public places in Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach and Cranberry Portage, was disappointed to hear of the ruling. "Especially for young people, if cigarettes are not in their line of sight, it may discourage them from purchasing them," she said. "The drain on our health dollars due to smoking is just phenomenal, and I really think we have to gear to the young people about smoking. This (law) was one way to maybe promote that, but unfortunately it's not going to continue." The Court of Appeals ruling has forced the Manitoba government to review plans for its own law to force retailers to hide tobacco products. "I think we want some time to examine and review the decision and the implications before I make a decision one way or another," Health Minister Dave Chomiak told The Winnipeg Sun.
