As a follow up to my follow up post about the new smoking regulations in BC, I thought I would focus on the direct impact this is having on Vancouverites.

A new province-wide regulation, effective March 31, bans smoking within three metres of those doorways, open windows and air intakes, so people who work in office towers, retail outlets and other buildings will have to go outside and walk farther away from the door to light up legally.

A City of Vancouver smoking bylaw that also comes into force at the end of the month creates a much larger no-smoking zone: smoking is prohibited within six metres of an entryway, openable window or air intake of a building. [The Vancouver Sun]

Robson Street
Adapted from Original Photo by SqueakyMarmot on Flickr

What this all means is that even if you’re walking down Robson street smoking a cigarette, you are breaking the law as you’re passing countless entryways to establishments.

You may have also noticed the display cases for tobacco products are missing from your neighbourhood store, grocery store and even London Drugs. All items are now behind closet doors, curtains or under counters that cannot contain any kind of tobacco advertising.

At the final Canucks game of the season, they also had a sign outside GM Place stating as of the beginning of the 08-09 season GM Place would no longer offer a smoking area for fans.

We are a non-smoking facility in accordance with the Vancouver City Health By-law. Areas for smoking during events are outside of Gates 2, 3, 7and 8.

Effective September 15, 2008 the outside designated smoking areas will no longer be in effect. Once a guest enters General Motors Place, they will not be granted in and out privileges at any gate. [GM Place]

Also, the other night while entering the Commodore for a concert we were told by two separate staff members that should we be smokers, there would be no in-and-out privileges whatsoever, as they have completely removed their outdoor smoking area.

So if you’re a smoker planning on going to a public event in Vancouver, whatever the venue, you should get all your puffs in at home because you won’t be able to have another until you get back.

The tougher laws and regulations from last summer are all culminating on March 31st, 2008 when new reforms get put into place throughout the Province.

Photo Credit: Viewership on Flickr

Under new laws, smokers will not be allowed to light up in public places and workspaces, or within three metres of public doorways.

The new tobacco regulations, which fall under the Tobacco Control Act, will ban:

*Smoking in all indoor public spaces and work places, with exemptions made for the ceremonial use of tobacco by Aboriginal Peoples.

*Smoking within three metres of public and workplace doorways, open windows or air intakes.

*Tobacco sales in public buildings, including hospitals and health facilities, universities and colleges, athletic and recreational facilities, and provincial government buildings.

*Display of tobacco products in all places where tobacco is sold that are accessible to youth under 19.

*Tobacco ads that hang from the ceiling, countertop tobacco displays, self-serve tobacco displays and outdoor tobacco signs.
[From the CBC]

Under the tighter laws, you can no longer get smokes in libraries or hospitals (I didn’t know you could in the first place anyway) however smoking is not banned on patios in BC for the time being. Most of all you’ll notice the new lack of advertising for cartons of cigarettes as retail stores where minors are permitted will no longer be able to promote the sale of tobacco goods. More info can be found on the Tobacco Free government website.

Signs were put up at home in our elevators last week to remind everyone that it is prohibited to smoke in common areas. Although I don’t think I’ve ever spotted someone lighting up in the laundry room, I hope this means our pool is now a clean-air zone. Nothing was worse than swimming laps last summer and surfacing with a gasp only to have my lungs filled with polluted air from a sunbathing tenant’s cigarette.

Last October I wrote a post about the Surrey Memorial Hospital expansion, and followed up by contacting the Fraser Health Authority about a campaign I had read about. As a result, I was able to help them connect with other bloggers and get their message out using social media, augmenting the distribution and exposure of their news releases regarding important initiatives such as the Tulips for Tomorrow campaign, which ran from October 2007 - December 2007.

100,000 Princess Irene tulips are growing in dozens of locations across Surrey. It’s the result of Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation’s first ever Tulips for Tomorrow Campaign, which was launched last fall. The Princess Irene’s red and orange petals are reminiscent of the Foundation’s logo.

The campaign has two goals – raise money for a new, state-of-the-art Emergency Centre and beautify Surrey. [SMH Foundation]

Close to $420,000 has been donated throughout this campaign for BC’s busiest Emergency Room, and Surreyites will be able to experience some beautiful floral displays this spring as a bonus.

More than ever Surrey Memorial Hospital is an important facility for my family as (save for my parents who weren’t born in Canada) all of us have come into this world at SMH, including my new baby nephew.

Earlier this week I wrote about the growing need for better healthcare facilities in the Fraser Valley and the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation’s plans for the region. Details of the “Tulips for Tomorrow” campaign have now been released and the purpose is to fund raise with the public’s help and also “beautify” the City of Surrey in the process.

Called Tulips for Tomorrow, the appeal offers donors an opportunity to help beautify Surrey, as well as ensure Surrey Memorial Hospital receives a state-of-the-art replacement to its current, overcrowded E.R. “We have close to 100,000 tulip bulbs to spread throughout the city,” says Foundation President/CEO Jane Adams. “From now until the end of November, donors of $100 or more to the Emergency Centre Campaign can pick up a number of bulbs for themselves. [SMHFoundation]

This morning I was thinking of putting up a button and linking to their online donations page but wanted to assure that anyone who donates can collect their tulips. I contacted Jason Howe, the Public Relations Director who gave the following details:

“Anyone who donates a minimum of $100 online will receive by mail a voucher for tulip bulbs, which they can cash in at either David Hunter Garden Centres or 99 Nursery & Florist. Anyone who donates a minimum of $1,000 will receive a planter/pot of tulips.

There are other sponsorship levels which are $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, and $50,000. Those would get you either a planter or a tulip garden in one of more than two dozen sites around Surrey.”

With that being said, please note the new button at the top of my sidebar which links to the “Donate Now” section of the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation’s website. The 2nd option noted above would seem like a good group project for a company or business as well.

Thanks in advance for your continued support of Miss604.com causes, I seriously have the best readers around. Now I just have to find a place to plant tulips in my Oma’s yard… if she’ll let me.

Photo credit: Surrey’s Health Services History

The only time I spent as a patient at Surrey Memorial Hospital was way back on January 9th, 1980. Of course at the time I was only 7lbs, but I’m pretty thankful that SMH staff was there to bring me into this world, even though I was already pretty eager to enter it.

My brother, sister, niece, nephews and two cousins were all born there as well. I’ve taken loved ones to the emergency room, picked up post-op friends and visited new mothers. I know it’s not the best facility around, but it really should be.

There are two major issues regarding medical facilities in Surrey right now, the first being an emergency room expansion.

Its current ER – the busiest in B.C. – was designed to handle 44,000 visits a year but has instead been seeing close to 70,000 patients annually.

The new Emergency Centre will be triple the size of the current ER and will include a separate children’s emergency room as well as a separate mental health and addictions area, an enhanced minor treatment unit, and an improved area for acute patients.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2008 with completion by 2010. [Surrey Leader]

Corporate donors and local businesses have helped raise a huge chunk of the $15 million still required to get the redevelopment and expansion moving, but this morning the SMH Foundation is launching an appeal for public support to raise the rest. A part of this is the “Tulips for Tomorrow” campaign which will see tulips planted in high-traffic areas of the City.

The second, more sensitive issue, is the building of the Surrey Outpatient Hospital. A new primary health care clinic and clinics for patients with chronic diseases… adjacent to Green Timbers Urban Forest.

The building’s site at 140th Street and Fraser Highway is controversial, as it will destroy a forest meadow. But the outpatient hospital should help the health region that has suffered from a lack of resources…

…Outpatient facilities at Surrey Memorial handle 134,000 visits and perform 94,300 procedures annually. Both are beyond its capacity. By moving those facilities, Surrey Memorial should be better able to treat the heavy emergency, acute and surgical caseload. [The Province]

More beds, more care, more attention, less forest and meadow land. Talk about a catch 22. If only we could replace one of those huge lots set to “bring Yaletown to Whalley” with a medical facility I think we’d all be able to sleep better at night. But look at the bright side, at least they’re not proposing to bring in a giant animatronic tyrannosaurus rex to help raise funds for these causes.

If you would like to donate to the SMH Foundation, you can do so on their website. More details about the “Tulips for Tomorrow” campaign will follow.