Both the City of Windsor and the County of Essex have enacted by-laws to regulate smoking. There are two by-laws regulating smoking in the County of Essex; a by-law regulating smoking in public places and a by-law regulating smoking in workplaces. Even with the enactment of the Smoke Free Ontario (SFO) Act the by-laws will still be in effect.

With respect to enforcement, the more restrictive law will apply. For example, both the County of Essex and the City of Windsor by-laws do not permit smoking within 9m of the entrance to any municipal building (e.g. library).  There is no such provision for municipal buildings in the SFO Act.  Therefore, a charge could be laid under the respective municipal by-law.

Links to each of the by-laws can be found under "Legislation"  in the  "Related Contents" section of this site.

For more information about the City of Windsor by-law, call 311. Questions about the County of Essex by-laws can be forwarded to the Health Unit's Tobacco Hotline at 519-258-2146, ext. 3218 or tobacco@wechealthunit.org