Park board to consider exemptions to smoking ban at large summer events

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A pilot project that would see exemptions to smoking bans in Vancouver parks during large events and festivals could kick off this summer.

Commissioners will vote on the recommendations in a staff report titled “Designated Smoking Area at Select Special Events in Summer 2026 – Pilot Program” at Monday’s meeting.

The report comes after two companies organizing events in Stanley Park and at Jericho Beach made requests to allow smoking in designated areas despite a 2010 policy prohibiting all smoking at the city’s parks and beaches.

“While significant effort is taken to prevent illegal smoking at events, illicit smoking is frequent at large public gatherings, especially music festivals and outdoor concerts. Surveys indicate that up to 37 per cent of festival-goers smoke—roughly double the rate of the general public—leading to widespread, routine rule-breaking at non-smoking events,” the report says.

Smoking in washrooms, concealing vapes, and retreating to less-visible areas are some of the methods the report says people commonly use to get around the ban.

Relegating smoking and vaping to a particular area, which is often fenced off and marked with signage, is one way to decrease illegal smoking while allowing most of the venue to remain smoke-free, according to the report.

“Pairing prohibitions with designated smoking areas—along with proper enforcement and event public health regulations and fines—has been shown to promote significantly better overall compliance,” the report continues.

The recommendation comes as the region anticipates a hot, dry summer with an increased risk for wildfire.

If approved, event organizers agree to foot the bill and work out the logistics of setting up designated smoking areas at Great Outdoors Comedy Festival, the Country Club Festival, and the Rosé Disco Festival.

“Staff consider requests of this nature very carefully and wish to emphasize that advancing this initiative does not represent an endorsement or support for the consumption of tobacco products/validation of the smoking culture,” the report says.

“Rather, staff are supportive of pursuing this pilot program due to the anticipated benefits.”

Other cities that take this approach with large events include Surrey, Kelowna, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax, according to the report.