Doug Ford: “If they want to have cigarettes in the machines, so be it”
Yesterday, a city council committee unsurprisingly shot down a proposal, held over from the David Miller era, that would have had city properties phase out sugared sodas. According to the Toronto Sun, Doug Ford offered this little pearl of wisdom during the debates, after being baited by Paula Fletcher : “If they want to have cigarettes in the machines, so be it,” Ford said. “They might even put a shot of rye in there, too. Unbelievable.”
Unbelievable indeed. We’re not sure about the rye, but selling cigarettes in vending machines is unequivocally, totally illegal in the province of Ontario, and has been since December 31, 1994. To be fair, this statement is actually a step forward for Councillor Ford, who last year seemed to shrug off a violent felony and is now merely suggesting that the city break health laws designed to keep children away from cigarettes. At this rate, by the time he runs for re-election, Ford should be advocating skipping school and sneaking in to R-rated movies.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/doug-ford-if-they-want-to-have-cigarettes-in-the-machines-so-be-it/&title=Doug Ford: “If they want to have cigarettes in the machines, so be it”&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Cigarette-Machine.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_62568" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Cigarette machines have been banned in Ontario since 1994 (Image: Bob Jagendorf)"][/caption]
Yesterday, a city council committee unsurprisingly shot down a proposal, held over from the David Miller era, that would have had city properties phase out sugared sodas. According to the Toronto Sun, Doug Ford offered this little pearl of wisdom during the debates, after being baited by Paula Fletcher : “If they want to have cigarettes in the machines, so be it,” Ford said. “They might even put a shot of rye in there, too. Unbelievable.”
Unbelievable indeed. We’re not sure about the rye, but selling cigarettes in vending machines is unequivocally, totally illegal in the province of Ontario, and has been since December 31, 1994. To be fair, this statement is actually a step forward for Councillor Ford, who last year seemed to shrug off a violent felony and is now merely suggesting that the city break health laws designed to keep children away from cigarettes. At this rate, by the time he runs for re-election, Ford should be advocating skipping school and sneaking in to R-rated movies.
• Pop ban scuttled [Toronto Sun]){kind=link}