Public consultations on Quebec's proposed tougher anti-tobacco laws are set to start this week in the National Assembly.
Anti-tobacco groups held a news conference Sunday in Montreal to support the legislation which would outlaw flavoured tobacco and prohibit e-cigarettes inside public buildings.
Smoking would also be banned on bar and restaurant patios.
The coalition, which now includes 172 municipalities, is asking the government to go even further in the legislation.
"The municipalities, while supporting the ban on smoking on terrasses for bars and restaurants, want additional public spaces to be protected including playgrounds for children, sports fields and some municipalities want to go farther and have a prohibition of smoking in all parks and all public beaches," explained Snowdon councillor Marvin Rotrand.
A total of 22 per cent of Quebecers smoke, a number the coalition wants to reduce by 10 per cent in the next decade.
