Iqaluit mother calls for Nunavut-wide ban on apartment smoking

A mother in Iqaluit wants to ban smoking inside all multi-dwelling residential buildings in Nunavut, where more than half the population over the age of 12 is said to smoke.

Sharon Angnakak started an online petition earlier this month after she and her children moved into an apartment building she says was full of smoke.

"It was heavy and stinky," she says, "to the point where you could see it. My daughter was even puking because the smoke was so strong."

Some provinces have made moves to discourage smoking in apartments and condos. Smoke-Free Nova Scotia, a website, directs non-smokers to apartment buildings where smoking is not allowed, while more than 100 apartment buildings in B.C. are now entirely smoke-free.

Angnakak says she's worried about the health impacts of second-hand cigarette smoke, and plans to bring her petition before the legislative assembly.

So far just over 200 people have signed her petition. Angnakak is seeking 1,000 signatures. 

Almost 60 per cent of Nunavut residents over the age of 12 smoke, well above the national average of 19 per cent, according to 2013 estimates from Statistics Canada.