In a bid to boost the number of non-smokers in the region, the government officials of Ontario have called for stricter measures on public smoking.
As per the new guideline that has been issued just this week, anyone found with contraband cigarettes in their possession will have to pay a hefty fine between $100 and $500.
Available at low costs, these cigarettes are a hit among young smokers. According to the findings of a recent study, these illegal contraband tobaccos account for more than 40% of those smoked by high schoolers.
Most of the times illegal cigarettes are being Marlboro brand or Winston cigarettes.
The proposal has been welcomed by the unions and the groups alike, with many feeling that the fine can prompt people to stop buying the illegal cigarettes.
The anti-smoking groups have supported the new legislation and have asserted that if a person will have to shell out $175 fine for a $15 cigarette, he will never again think of doing that.
It is, however, maintained that along with imposition of new rules and fines on the smokers, the government should also tight its grip on the cigar manufacturers.
Commending the decision, the Revenue Minister, Sophia Aggelonitis during a recent media briefing said: “Illegal tobacco is a complicated issue; it is an issue that is multi-ministerial, multi-jurisdictional. We're working with all our partners, and it is important for us to take this first step”.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
SGA works on series of new bills
SGA is hoping to make campus safer, cleaner and more efficient for students. Enforcement of the no tobacco rule on campus, the Maintenance Entrance Note Act of 2011 and the Green Fee Committee are all projects on which SGA is currently working.
Tech has been a tobacco free campus for more than a year now, but many students who choose to use tobacco products break this rule on a daily basis and cause frustration to numerous students who choose not to use tobacco products.
"There's nothing really set in stone to enforce that policy because you really can't give a ticket to a student for smoking," said SGA President Sean Ochsenbein. "In that sense, there is no sole person that is out there among the group that is enforcing that policy."
SGA is now trying to come up with a cohesive and realistic way of approaching enforcement of no tobacco on campus. Ochsenbein has talked to students and come up with an idea that might be proposed to the administrative council in the next few weeks.
Another change that SGA hopes to make on campus is raising an awareness of maintenance workers entering residence halls and dorm rooms. During the March 1 meeting, SGA Senator Bo Murphy moved to accept the Maintenance Entrance Note Act of 2011. It was passed with friendly amendments.
The act requires that all maintenance workers must leave a note stating that they were in the room and the reason for their presence.
"It gives security to the student and a little bit of understanding of why someone was in the room," Ochsenbein said.
Yet another change that SGA is hoping to make on campus involves the Green Fee Committee. The committee is in charge of allocating the utilization of Green Fee money. The money comes from a fund that was the result of a bill that was approved Fall 2005, similar to the Student Organization Life Opportunity Fund that was created last year.
"There was a movement about five years ago in the state schools to find money to promote a green initiative on campuses," Ochsenbein said. "Of course, with state funding continually being reduced, students are paying more for their education than the state is, and there's not a lot of funding for those kinds of areas because most of it is going to the education.
"The money that is in that fund will be able to sustain a recycling program on campus that would be professional," Ochsenbein said.
The recycling plan includes putting recycling receptacles around campus in strategic locations where there is a high volume of traffic. The plan also involves having a service that will come to pick up the recycled materials and empty the recycling bins.
Ochsenbein expects all of these changes around campus to be put into effect within the next few weeks.
Tech has been a tobacco free campus for more than a year now, but many students who choose to use tobacco products break this rule on a daily basis and cause frustration to numerous students who choose not to use tobacco products.
"There's nothing really set in stone to enforce that policy because you really can't give a ticket to a student for smoking," said SGA President Sean Ochsenbein. "In that sense, there is no sole person that is out there among the group that is enforcing that policy."
SGA is now trying to come up with a cohesive and realistic way of approaching enforcement of no tobacco on campus. Ochsenbein has talked to students and come up with an idea that might be proposed to the administrative council in the next few weeks.
Another change that SGA hopes to make on campus is raising an awareness of maintenance workers entering residence halls and dorm rooms. During the March 1 meeting, SGA Senator Bo Murphy moved to accept the Maintenance Entrance Note Act of 2011. It was passed with friendly amendments.
The act requires that all maintenance workers must leave a note stating that they were in the room and the reason for their presence.
"It gives security to the student and a little bit of understanding of why someone was in the room," Ochsenbein said.
Yet another change that SGA is hoping to make on campus involves the Green Fee Committee. The committee is in charge of allocating the utilization of Green Fee money. The money comes from a fund that was the result of a bill that was approved Fall 2005, similar to the Student Organization Life Opportunity Fund that was created last year.
"There was a movement about five years ago in the state schools to find money to promote a green initiative on campuses," Ochsenbein said. "Of course, with state funding continually being reduced, students are paying more for their education than the state is, and there's not a lot of funding for those kinds of areas because most of it is going to the education.
"The money that is in that fund will be able to sustain a recycling program on campus that would be professional," Ochsenbein said.
The recycling plan includes putting recycling receptacles around campus in strategic locations where there is a high volume of traffic. The plan also involves having a service that will come to pick up the recycled materials and empty the recycling bins.
Ochsenbein expects all of these changes around campus to be put into effect within the next few weeks.
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