Bars, restaurants and other businesses across the territory would be smoke-free if the NDP became the next government in the Oct. 10 election.

Samson Hartland, the NDP's Porter Creek South candidate, and Porter Creek Centre candidate Kate White made the announcement on the initiative on Sunday.

'What we want to do is protect people,' White said in an interview this morning.

While everyone seems to know the ill-effects of smoking on health, there are still 14-year-olds starting to light up, White pointed out.

'It can't be glorified,' she said.

The general ban would not only protect staff, but also employers, and could reduce health care costs in the long term, she said.

In the announcement, Hartland argued the Yukon has the weakest tobacco-control legislation in the country, including the third-lowest tax rate on tobacco.

In Whitehorse, the city's public smoking bylaw prohibits smoking in all public places. The ban was passed in 2003 and came into effect in 2004, although bars and Porter Creek Billiards were given a year's grace period on the ban until 2005.

Hartland was a city councillor from 2000 to 2003. He spoke in favour of the smoking bylaw but was absent from council meetings when second and third readings of the law were voted on and passed.

In making the announcement, Hartland said that while the city's experience has shown banning smoking in bars and restaurants would be controversial, it's the right thing to do.

The Yukon is far behind other parts of the country in dealing with the threat smoking poses to public health, a threat which is also a drain on the public health care system, he said.

Dawson City also has a similar bylaw, although smoking continues to be permitted at bars and on outdoor patios.

White and other NDP candidates realize the proposed general smoking ban across the territory will likely be the most controversial part of their platform. However, White said it's important for voters to know where the party stands on it.

'We would push it through as fast as we could,' she said, though she noted the process of passing legislation can take some time.

The ban in Whitehorse sparked controversy among bars.

As for bars throughout the Yukon and whether there would be any sort of grace period for businesses to prepare after the legislation is passed, White said: 'They're going to have to get used to the idea.'

She was quick to point out that other regions, both in Canada and elsewhere such as in Ireland, have successfully instituted smoking bans.

Research, she said, has shown that allowing a smoking room attached to the business can be ineffective and costly.

'It's not something we're going to encourage,' she said.

The NDP proposal would not apply to business premises where there are no employees, such as a home-based business, or buildings not open to the public.

'I do believe it is for the good and it will work out in the end,' she said of the ban.