New Smoking Ban Proposed for NYC Parks, Beaches

New York City wants to take its tough smoking ban outdoors.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials announced Wednesday that they will pursue a broad extension of the city's smoking ban to parks, beaches, marinas, boardwalks and pedestrian plazas throughout the city.

That would mean no smoking in Central Park, no lighting up on the Coney Island boardwalk and putting the cigarettes away if you're lounging on the traffic-free Broadway pedestrian plaza in Times Square.

Officials said they are basing the proposed law on claims that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can pose health risks.

"The science is clear: prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke, whether you're indoors or out, hurts your health," Bloomberg said in a statement. "Today, we're doing something about it."

States and cities from Maine to California have banned smoking in public parks and beaches, but New York is pursuing one of the most ambitious urban efforts.

The city's parks department is responsible for 14 miles of public beaches and 29,000 acres of parkland. Smoking is already banned in some parks facilities, including playgrounds, but not in most open recreational areas.

The proposed law, which must go through the City Council, would give the parks department the power to slap violators with quality-of-life summonses, which are tickets for minor offenses like panhandling or public urination. Fines can go as high as $250; the city said smoking summonses likely would be around $50.

The effort, which follows the city's 2003 ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, was hailed Wednesday by health groups, including the American Cancer Society.

A smokers' rights group, NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, recently posted a video on its website protesting the idea. The group's founder, Audrey Silk, argues that smoke dissipates quickly outdoors, where "there's room for everybody and nobody will be affected."

Council members plan to introduce the anti-smoking bill Thursday. It has to go through committee hearings before the full 51-member council can vote.

Officials cited a May 2007 Stanford University study that found a person sitting within three feet of a smoker outdoors can be exposed to levels of secondhand smoke similar to indoor levels.

And the city's health department says 57 percent of nonsmoking New Yorkers have elevated levels of cotitine, a byproduct of nicotine, in their blood. That means they were likely recently exposed to secondhand smoke in concentrations high enough to leave behind residue in the body.

[2losthere]

JUST MY OBSERVATION:
Government is a service we pay in taxes to pickup garbage, provide public safety, maintain the infrastructure. Its like having maid. Your maid doesn't own your house, doesn't give herself salary raise. Government does the opposite. They don't do the job, or do lousy job, they increase taxes whenever they want and if you can't pay it, they take your house, your assets, freeze your bank account. Once the government owns everything and controls your life, it is called Communist Country. Welcome to the Communist States of America!

Our freedom was already taken away. We go through radioactive scanners because the government failed to protect our safety. Where is Bloomberg on that health hazard? We lost our freedom by government forcing our children to go oversea and die in useless wars we lose anyway. Does Bloomberg have kids? If he does, did he sent them to war?

Bloomberg is not a politician. He is a business man. We had high hopes when he ran for office. We expected him to figure out how the government can make money instead of extorting it from working people and small businesses. He put us down.

Bloomberg is destroying small business in the fiveboroughs by dumb bicycle lanes, pedestrian zones and concrete isles narrowing streets to single lane. Stores can't get deliveries because trucks have no place to pull over and unload. Customers can't come to shop, because they get $100 parking tickets. Thanks Mayor! Thanks for killing America.

[justsaymaybe]

Okay, how about a compromise. NYC can ban smokers from public parks and beaches when they eliminate the draconian city-wide tax on cigarettes. We pay our taxes, we get to use public services like everyone else. Don't want to lose the revenue? No dice on the ban.

The problem isn't smokers, the problem is obnoxious people. I'm a consciously polite smoker; I don't smoke around kids, I keep it away from everyone whenever possible (it weirds me out when someone without a cigarette stands really close to me while I'm smoking, even though they obviously don't care), and I'll put it out on the sole of my shoe and pitch it into a trashcan when one is available. You don't need to demonize smokers, you just need to demonize inconsiderate jerks. We should have public awareness campaign/shaming of all rude people, like those having loud private conversations on subways. Lay off smokers, not all of us are terrible.

[Jacxbr]

Thanks for you considerate smoking habits. Unfortunately, smoke travels, and you just can't control who ends up inhaling it. And that's really the issue here. The delivery system of cigarettes deny non smokers the Freedom of Choice. When you exhale, we are forced to inhale. I'm sure there are many things you wouldn't want to put in your body - and if someone force fed those things to you, you'd be pretty upset, you'd feel like your liberties, you rights, were being violated. That's how non smokers feel. So find another delivery system for the nicotine and the tobacco - chew it, patch it, suck on it - find a way to make this choice without imposing it on the involuntary. I admit, I demonize smokers on the street - but that's because I feel like "how dare they!" blow this cancerous harmful stuff into my lungs without my consent. Each puff feels like a little bullet. I feel like smokers take away my Freedom, and then get to hide behind the American Flag and say they have the Freedom to hurt me. I hope this makes sense to you - your actions make you a real health threat and in that sense, a villain.

[rf35]

"Yet officials cite a May 2007 Stanford University study that found a person sitting within three feet of a smoker outdoors can be exposed to levels of secondhand smoke similar to indoor levels."

Sure, if the smoker was exhaling directly in the other person's face while that person was breathing deeply.

I'm a non-smoker, but this is a absolute outrage. Smokers were pushed out of indoor areas. I thought that was a crock...I mean, if they stay in the smoking section or use the smokers' lounges or smokers' break rooms, then who cares? Now this pack of petty dictators wants to tell smokers they can't even light up in many outdoor areas? Where will it stop? Why don't they just ban smoking altogether?

Someone in the earlier related article mentioned the fat tax. This isn't a local phenomenon. Look for it nationwide. There are folks in Congress and lobbyists pushing for a tax of soda and other high sugar/fat/calorie foods. And of course, it extends to the sugar free and low/no calorie versions, too. Look for more freedoms to go away after this. I wonder what they'll come after next: alcohol or maybe those tumor-inducing cell phones...

[Skulldog]

If you are concerned with second hand smoke in public areas, what about all the smoke from the traffic in NYC? "thmNYC4" mentioned that carbon monixide is in cigarettes, but it is also in car exhaust.

You can argue peoples individual rights, but there are going to be times when my individual right is going to offend another persons individual rights. You need to pick and choose your battles and I think this is the wrong one.

[richcream]

Yes, car exhaust is toxic. Let's reduce the amount of cancer-causing poison in the air by eliminating those which are relatively unnecessary (people arguably need to drive, they don't need to smoke). I'm sick of having to breath this s*** in every day just walking down the sidewalk. Ban it except in your own home. Like masturbation.

[GrandmaPJean]

I am not a smoker and I appreciate all that can be done to address the smoking in public places. I am also concerned with the dress code, or lack of it, when visiting time square. I am offended by the naked cowboy and cowgirl (with only pasties covering her breasts) that were wondering the area and having their pictures taken with tourists. This is suppose to be a place where you can bring your family. Not my four to eight year old grandchildren. It took Mayor Gulianni years to clean up this area. They might as well give it back to the hookers.

[la120365]

I am an AVID non-smoker and have no problem with banning smoking indoors or in small outdoor areas, but to ban it in basically ALL outdoor areas in the city seems like overkill.

I think this is premature if it is only based on one Stanford study and a study of non-smoking New Yorkers showing 57% have "elevated" levels of nicotine in their system.

I think you need more definitive proof than this to ban something this broadly.

Again, I am a non-smoker but taking away our "freedoms" in the name of health has limits.

[Jacxbr]

This law isn't meant to limit Freedom of Choice, it's meant to liberate Freedom of Choice. Everyone should have the right to choose what to put in their bodies, but non smokers have no choice but to inhale the smoke that others exhale. It's a battle of Freedoms here, and that must be recognized. Nobody cares if you want to use tobacco and nicotine - patch it, chew it, find a way to snort it - just don't blow it down the lungs of the involuntary participant. The delivery system of drugs through smoke directly infringes on the rights of others to decide what they want to ingest. That's the issue here. Yes, it's all about Freedom - but for too long the law's been upholding the Freedom of the wrong group.

[ghostofandy]

I think this is just an excuse to generate more money for the city. NYC is hurting financially, so they're taking away freedoms to take money away from hard working citizens. No one can convince me that you can get enough 2nd-hand smoke from someone smoking next to you outdoors to pose a health hazard.

[thmNYC4]

I PRAY this law is passed! I'm sick of going to the park and longing to smell the grass and instead I smell cigars and cigarettes. I have asthma and I'm FORCED to breath your smoke. What about MY rights? I have to constantly move if on a beach or walking. It makes me sick. You can smoke in private. I'm the one without rights being forced to smell your toxins- A cigarette contains about 4000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous. Some of the worst ones are:

* Nicotine: a deadly poison

* Arsenic: used in rat poison

* Methane: a component of rocket fuel

* Ammonia: found in floor cleaner

* Cadmium: used in batteries

* Carbon Monoxide: part of car exhaust

* Formaldehyde: used to preserve body tissue

* Butane: lighter fluid

* Hydrogen Cyanide: the poison used in gas chambers
So I say GO SMOKE IN YOUR HOME IN PRIVATE, away from your family, kids, pets if you like. But stop forcing me to breath it! And also look where you chuck your un-extinguished cigarettes as I've been burned by someone just throwing it behind them. NON SMOKERS HAVE RIGHTS TOO!

[epilady]

What happened to our freedom? Are we still in the United States of America or the Soviet Union? You tax us for smoking, soda, health insurance in going up more then our rises at work and NOW we can't even smoke OUTSIDE. WOW.
Are you going to tax or take away our rights to purchase, sugar, cookies, candy, dessert, coffee, fried foods, beer, wine, alchol, etc? WHERE IS THE END? What is it going to take to STOP this control from the government? We are people, we have rights, don't we? I sometimes wonder. If I'm overweight, is the government going to come to my house and control what I eat so I could be what they want be to be? Instead of going forward and improving, it seems that we are reversing and getting worse. I'm really disappointed in our government, leave us alone and let us make our own decision DO NOT TRY TO CONTROL US!

[Jacxbr]

This law isn't meant to protect you from yourself - it's meant to protect me from you. Eat all the candy you want - drink all the beer you want - I won't care because I won't feel the effects. But when you smoke a cigarette, you force me to smoke it with you. So find another delivery system for the drug - one that doesn't infringe on my Freedom and we'll all be happy. You want control of your body - so do I!!!

[LennyWaller]

I am a 60 year old NYC Cigar smoker. This time Mayor Bloomberg has gone way to far. We need a city that is good for all it's citizens. The City gets huge revenues from Cigar, Cigarette, & tobacco taxes. The taxes have brought the cost of a cigar up 90%, Cigarettes are about $11.00 a pack.
But smokers still buy them & smoke. The sale of tobacco & it's products is still legal. Smoking is an individual choice. Mayor Bloomberg chose to quit smoking. We need a Mayor for all, not just those who bow to Bloomberg. Our Mayor is a Power Hungry Dictator. We don't need a Nanny government.
Tobacco stores also sell, many other products tobacco related but not tobacco that generate tax revenue & provide jobs for people in NYC.
If people don't want the litter of cigarette butts & cigar butts, enforce the existing littering law. Don't ban smoking.
Smokers be visible, Go to the heatings call & write your Representatives. Tell Them NO Smoking Ban! I SMOKE, I VOTE!
Lenny Waller NYC