New law pushes Alberta smokers into traffic

A new smoking law in Alberta bans smoking within five metres of a public building or workplace, but in some areas the rule forces smokers into the middle of a road.

On Edmonton's popular Whyte Avenue, the new law forces smokers to step over the curb into traffic in order to be five metres away from a building.

"You can't stay away, like five metres from the business, in the middle of the road and you smoke," said Nick Moustafa, as he stood outside Mickey's Barber Shop on Whyte Avenue with a cigarette.

"So I can see lots of people not following the law," he said.

No other province forces smokers to light up as far away from doorways as Alberta, but enforcing it may be tough.

"The reality is when it comes to a law like this it is going to fall pretty low on our priority scale," Edmonton police spokeswoman Karen Carlson told CBC News.

Enforcing the smoking law currently falls to police until the city of Edmonton brings its anti-smoking bylaw up to provincial standards. At that point, city bylaw officers would take over enforcement.

"Our resources are already tasked anyway. The time is the big requirement," Carlson added, pointing out it takes time for officers to research, investigate and write a ticket.