Excuse me Mr. Sean Penn, please put out that cigarette
The Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto, Ontario Canada could be facing a whooping $605 fine after actor Sean Penn lit up a cigarette during a press conference this week.
The city's public health department, which enforces the provincial anti-smoking law, alleges that the hotel failed to post appropriate signage in the building. This sort of violation carries a fine of $240. Bylaw enforcement personnel also claim that hotel representatives failed to give Penn notice that smoking was not permitted when he lit up. That breach of Toronto’s anti-smoking law carries a $365 fine.
Good on the smoking police for actually enforcing the law - whether it is because people took photos of Penn smoking in the hotel and the backlash that would come from not enforcing the new laws, or whether it was because they were just doing their job.
The only problem I have with the situation is that the total fine to the hotel is $605! I mean how threatening is a $605 fine really going to be for such a successful hotel? For a small business that might be a large sum of money, but I think in the long run $605 can be made up in a day for larger businesses.
