A government-appointed advisory group is calling on the Ontario government to bring in new laws that would further restrict where cigarettes are sold and where they can be smoked.
An estimated two million people in Ontario are smokers, but the tobacco strategy advisory group wants to see that number drop by 490,000 — or 23 per cent — in the next five years.
"It's time to change our approach," said Michael Perley, a member of the panel and director of the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco.
"It's time that we no longer treat the tobacco industry as a normal, legitimate business. The tobacco industry should not be considered either normal or legitimate."
Panelist Laura Syron with the Heart and Stroke Foundation called the tobacco industry "nimble and subversive."
"They have found ways to attract new customers through innovative products [and] cutting-edge marketing campaigns targeting youth," she said.
In a 43-page report released Tuesday, the advisory group of health and tobacco-control experts outlined a wide range of recommendations that it says should form the basis of the province's next five-year Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy.
Among its many recommendations, the report urges an end to smoking in multi-residential rental units, on all restaurant patios, within nine metres of public building doorways and in all parks and playgrounds.
Perley rejects the notion that such measures might be seen as too harsh.
"We found in the past when these proposals are actually put forward in legislation, there is not a huge backlash. There is not resistance," he said.
The panel also recommends restricting the type of businesses allowed to sell cigarettes and licensing those businesses that do sell tobacco products. The report calls for controls on the supply of raw manufacturing materials and more intensive enforcement to combat the contraband market.
In addition, the panel wants the province to set a minimum retail price for tobacco.
"We've done a good job of protecting non-smokers from secondhand smoke and beginning to address youth protection and retail issues," said Perley. "Now, it's time to build on those gains and address the source — the supply of and demand for tobacco products."
Government figures say smoking remains the biggest preventable cause of death in Ontario, killing 13,000 people in the province annually and costing the health care system an estimated $1.6 billion each year.
The government was expected to respond to the recommendations later Tuesday.