VICTORIA - Smokers in British Columbia will no longer be able to puff outside doorways or on hospital and school grounds under tough new anti-smoking legislation introduced Tuesday.

The law will bar smoking at those outdoor locations, as well as standardize a ban on all indoor smoking, including bars, restaurants and malls.

Health Minister George Abbott said the law will also ban the display of tobacco and related products in stores, but pharmacies will still be allowed to sell cigarettes.

Most of the rules take effect next year but smoking will be forbidden on school grounds by September.

"If there is such a thing residual in the province those would be eliminated by this legislation,'' Abbott said.

"This means whether you're a student smoker or a teacher who's a smoker in both cases you're not going to be doing it on any school property.''

The Canadian Cancer Society applauded the legislation.

Barbara Kaminsky, who heads the society's B.C. and Yukon division, said Bill 10 will standardize anti-smoking rules across the province.

"Right now we have a patchwork of different bylaws that exist that are stronger than the provincewide WCB (Workers Compensation Board) regulations that still allow you to have designated smoking rooms,'' Kaminsky said.

"If you would go to some of the more remote communities you would still see designated smoking rooms in places like bars. We understand designated smoking rooms will be a thing of the past.''

The cancer society says it will continue to lobby the government to ban the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies.

NDP health critic Adrian Dix said the Opposition would like to see Abbott change his mind and change the bill to include outlawing pharmacy sales.

Abbott said he considered carefully whether the legislation should extend to pharmacies.

"There's probably a stronger case to be made for not having it sold anywhere than it would be to say some retailers can sell this and other retailers can't,'' Abbott said.

"Some pharmacists would argue a pharmacy's perhaps a better place than a corner store to sell it because there's better control there.''

Abbott said he believes public opinion will be firmly behind the new legislation, which he calls positive and constructive.

The B.C. government says each year, tobacco use kills more than 6,000 people and costs the provincial economy $2.3 billion.

Provincial taxes on tobacco account for nearly $700 million in annual revenue.