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But Kraemer scored one for the Marlboro Man last week when he had three workplace smoking infractions dismissed at Provincial Offences Court.

Kraemer was slapped with the charges last fall for lighting up inside his luxury SUV in a parking lot at Baseline and Wellington roads, just after he’d bought a doughnut and coffee from Tim Hortons.

The vehicle’s ownership is registered to Sparkles and the argument was it is a workplace vehicle. Kraemer said it is for his personal use.

“This is my personal car that I drive from home to work and from work to home,” he said.

“The justice of the peace said, ‘I haven’t heard one shred of evidence that that car was ever used for business for Sparkles,'” said the victorious Kraemer.

To back up a little bit, Kraemer has already paid financial penalties for his bad habit and likely ruffled the feathers of the anti-smoking authorities.

About a year ago, an enforcement officer came to his business on Wellington Road for a routine check. Kraemer said he tended to smoke in his second-floor office away from the rest of the business with the door closed, the window open and a fan blowing.

Pretty soon we can’t have a smoke except in the middle of some farmer’s field

“There’s no smoke that ever goes down to where the employees are,” he said.

Kraemer said the officer came into his office and opened a desk drawer to discover an ash tray and a butted out cigarette. He issued two tickets to Kraemer, each carrying a $350 fine.

That didn’t go over well with Kraemer. “I was annoyed. Isn’t one ticket enough?”