A provincial ban on selling cigarettes on post-secondary campuses came into effect Jan. 1, affecting three locations on Carleton campus that previously sold tobacco.
Cigarettes will no longer be available at Abstentions in Residence Commons, which is run by the Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA); the Unicentre store, Henry’s Convenience, which is run by the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA); and Mike’s Place, the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA)-run pub.
The legislation, which was announced Nov. 7, allowed less than two months for the affected campus associations to sell the rest of their stock and revise their budgets before it came into effect.
“At this time, the total impact of this change is just guessing,” CUSA business operations manager Rod Castro said. “Our plan is to monitor sales and the revenues at the store over the next few weeks and make a more educated decision as to the impact on our budgets.”
Castro said cigarette sales accounted for approximately 25 per cent of total sales at Henry’s Convenience store.
CUSA returned its unsold cigarette stock to suppliers, according to Castro.
RRRA, who told the Charlatan in November that they weren’t expecting the legislation, said it will lose $20,000 in profits from the loss of revenue at Abstentions, including the losses in cigarettes purchased and not sold by Jan. 1.
RRRA’s unsold cigarette stock has been bought back by its original vendors for the same price originally paid, according to vice-president (administration) Graham Pedregosa.
Pedregosa said Abstentions has seen increased sales in products other than cigarettes, accounting for what he called “good financial flexibility.”
The GSA was able to sell their entire inventory of cigarettes by the end of November 2014, according to its vice-president (operations), Justine Mallah.
“The sale of cigarettes at Mike’s Place was minimal,” Mallah said.
“The loss of revenue is in the hundreds of dollars per year, and there are only four months left in the fiscal year, so there’s no need to revise the budget.”
Mallah said she has heard complaints from students about the inconvenience of leaving campus to purchase cigarettes. Safety has been identified as a concern, Mallah added, for residence students walking off campus at night to find the closest convenience store.
Carleton student Omar Hassanein said he doesn’t mind the change in legislation, despite occasionally buying cigarettes on campus in the past.
“Smoking’s horrible,” Hassanein said, pointing to Canada’s universal health care coverage as reason why the province has the authority to restrict smoking.
But some students aren’t as pleased with the changes.
“Smokers don’t have rights anymore,” Carleton student Jaber Jouni said.
Carleton is the only post-secondary campus in Ottawa affected by the change in legislation, as the University of Ottawa stopped selling cigarettes on campus years ago and Algonquin College has never sold tobacco on campus.
The new legislation also prohibits smoking in playgrounds and on bar or restaurant patios—practices that were already banned under Ottawa’s municipal legislation.
