Tobacco.org

Smoking ban at Timmins parks gets approval 

TIMMINS — A smoking-bylaw amendment prohibiting puffing near public beaches, certain playgrounds and recreational fields has been passed by Timmins city council.

It has been a topic that has ignited much discussion around the council table since a group of young people from Whisper Out Loud did a presentation.

The original suggestion was to prohibit people from smoking within roughly 30 metres of beaches, playgrounds and recreational fields.

The amendment passed yesterday establishes that restriction at 10 metres.

Jump to full article »

No smoking in Morgan parks 

Blowing smoke and flipping cigarette butts in Morgan County parks will end soon.

The County Commission plans to adopt a resolution in two weeks to ban smoking at its four parks.

Hartselle’s council discussed such a prohibition but never followed through. Decatur prohibits smoking at playgrounds and outdoor seating areas. It banned smoking in all public buildings and businesses in August 2007.

The commission held a special work session Thursday to discuss coordinators for parks and ended up with a consensus to do away with smoking at the public facilities.

District 1 Commissioner Jeff Clark said he already forbids smoking inside North Park in his district.

“I have a sign up that prohibits smoking once they enter the inside of the fence at the park and I have a designated area for them to smoke,” Clark said.

District 2 Commissioner Ken Livingston said people have complained about tobacco chewing and snuff dipping.

“I’ve had people complain about the smoking, but then I’ve had people talk about ‘nasty’ spitting of tobacco,” Livingston said.

Jump to full article »

No more smoking on the sidelines? 

The Town of Windsor is considering a bylaw to ward away secondhand smoke.

With a vote of 3-2, Council approved first reading of the Protection from Secondhand Smoke Bylaw. The matter will go to second reading at the November 24 council meeting. If passed, no one will be permitted to smoke on any property owned or leased by the Town. This includes all town parks, playgrounds, recreational facilities, trails and building lands.

Windsor’s chief administrative officer Louis Coutinho says the bylaw is not about trying to fine people, but about educating people in a healthier community. “Secondhand smoke is a health hazard.”

Still, those caught violating this bylaw could be subject to a fine of up to $200.

Jump to full article »

City Council approves tobacco-free zones in parks  

WENATCHEE — The city will use courtesy as its main tactic in controlling smoking in parks.

The City Council Thursday unanimously agreed to create “tobacco-free” zones around playgrounds and other areas where people gather within Wenatchee city parks.

Signs will be posted around the new zones gently reminding smokers to light up elsewhere.

But compliance will be voluntary.

“I see this as a voluntary enforcement activity,” Mayor Dennis Johnson told the council. “We don’t have the resources to be policing parks for smoking.”

Jump to full article »

Smokers may have to butt out at Welland sports venues  

City councillors want people to leave their cigarettes at home when they accompany children to baseball and soccer games at municipal parks.

Welland is developing a draft bylaw to prohibit people from smoking during sports events at city parks.

"I think it would be a great thing for parents, grandparents of children ... to butt out during the games," said Ward 5 Coun. Rocky Letourneau, who first raised the issue at a city council meeting in the summer.

If people need to have a cigarette, Letourneau suggested they leave the area.

Jump to full article »

Iowa City Cracking Down on Panhandlers, Smokers 

A group of downtown business owners in Iowa City wants to move panhandlers farther away and make an open air mall smoke-free from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. . . .

The group also wants the city to ban smoking in the open air mall, saying it would reduce loitering outside their stores and keep sidewalk cafe patrons from enduring nearby smoking. By allowing smoking after 10 p.m., bar patrons could smoke outside after the cafes had closed.

Jump to full article »

Ithaca Common Council's Legislative Committee debates smoking regulations  

Potential changes to the outdoor smoking regulations proposed by Ithaca Common Council include eliminating the no-smoking buffer around outdoor dining areas and extending the no-smoking area on the Commons.

Common Council's Legislative Committee met Monday night to continue discussion on Ithaca's attempt to limit outdoor smoking. If implemented, Ithaca would be the first municipality in the state to enact outdoor smoking regulations as law, enforceable by police and punishable with fines.

Under a previous recommendation, smoking would not be allowed 25 feet around any outdoor dining area. That meant that virtually all of Aurora Street's Restaurant Row would be smoke-free.

Jump to full article »

• Falmouth voters OK ban on beach smoking  

Voters at last night's town meeting gave a big thumbs down to those who like to light up on the town's public beaches.

Smoking is no longer allowed on any of the town's 11 public beaches, following a 128-60 vote that makes Falmouth the third community on the Cape to snuff out smoking on municipal beaches. Proponents of the ban cited litter in the form of errant cigarette butts in the sand, as well as the harm caused by secondhand smoke, as the main reasons to pass the smoking ban warrant item. . . .

In the end, a majority of town meeting voters said they were tired of "inconsiderate" people on the beach who refuse to move even after complaints and throw cigarette filters in the sand, where young children often find them while building sand castles.

Jump to full article »

Palm Desert looking at new outdoor smoking rules  

Taking a cigarette break by the office door or lighting up on a restaurant patio may be about to get harder for smokers in Palm Desert.

The City Council is expected to vote on an update of the city's smoking ordinance that will require smokers to move 20 feet away from buildings' and businesses primary entrance so nonsmokers entering or exiting the premises are not confronted with a small cloud of secondhand smoke.

Other changes in the law include:

-- Restaurants or bars that allow smoking on their patios will have to make sure their smoking areas are not within 20 feet of the business's primary entrance.

Jump to full article »

• Tenants demand tougher anti-smoking laws 

"We shut the doors, we shut the windows, which is pretty inconvenient and not guaranteed to stop all the smoke anyway," he said.

Horelick is part of a group of residents who are calling on the City Council to expand an ordinance that bans smoking in all common areas of apartments and condominiums to also apply to balconies and patios, arguing the current regulations, while a step in the right direction, don't go far enough.

Jump to full article »

Falmouth to vote on beach smoking ban 

Local beach officials are tired of all the butts in the sand.

Voters at Monday's annual town meeting could make all of Falmouth's 11 town beaches smoke-free if they approve a recommendation from Beach Supt. Donald Hoffer and the Falmouth Beach Committee. If it passes, Falmouth will become the third Cape town, in addition to Barnstable and Yarmouth, to ban tobacco products from all public beaches, Hoffer said.

"Cigarette butts and filters end up in the sand, thousands of them every year, and they're not biodegradable," Hoffer said. "We'd be ridding the beaches of noxious debris."

The warrant article -- one of 32 voters will decide on Monday -- stemmed from a unanimous 5-0 vote from the beach committee and simply states "the use of smoking materials on the public beaches of Falmouth is prohibited."

Lifeguards will be responsible for enforcing the proposed rule, although Hoffer said he hopes beachgoers will eventually learn to police themselves so lifeguards can focus on keeping people safe from drowning.

Jump to full article »

Falmouth to vote on beach smoking ban 

Voters at Monday's annual town meeting could make all of Falmouth's 11 town beaches smoke-free if they approve a recommendation from Beach Supt. Donald Hoffer and the Falmouth Beach Committee. If it passes, Falmouth will become the third Cape town, in addition to Barnstable and Yarmouth, to ban tobacco products from all public beaches, Hoffer said.

"Cigarette butts and filters end up in the sand, thousands of them every year, and they're not biodegradable," Hoffer said. "We'd be ridding the beaches of noxious debris."

The warrant article -- one of 32 voters will decide on Monday -- stemmed from a unanimous 5-0 vote from the beach committee and simply states "the use of smoking materials on the public beaches of Falmouth is prohibited."

Jump to full article »

Smoking ban may include fines  

But exposing young children to cigarette smoke is another matter, said Mayo, a town Parks Commissioner who inspired the board to ban smoking at the park and Sandy Pond Beach this summer.

Now, the Board of Health is teaming up with the Parks Commission to put more teeth into the regulation, possibly instituting some fines for violators.

The Ayer Board of Health is expected to discuss nuts and bolts of its potential smoking regulation at its biweekly meeting scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9. The purpose of the proposal is to add an enforcement component to the smoking ban that the Parks Commission adopted in August.

Jump to full article »

Clearing the air  

Eugene resident Sally Krueger used to walk with her two children through the front door of the downtown public library.

But the smoking and cursing from people who congregate in front of the library prompted Krueger to change her route. She and her children now enter the building from the library's underground parking garage.

"I always have my kids with me, and it's the smoking and the language that I don't want to subject them to," said Krueger, an elementary school teacher.

But help is on the way for residents like Krueger, who have become uncomfortable with the behavior of people outside the library at West 10th Avenue and Olive Street.

City officials are proposing to completely ban smoking outside the entire library building, up to the curbs, early next year.

Jump to full article »

Kennesaw OKs subdivision plans; Powder Springs eyes smoking ban  

Powder Springs

The city conducted the first public hearing for a proposed ordinance to ban smoking at city-sponsored events on the town square, specifically the Fourth of July and Christmas celebrations. Mayor Pat Vaughn said Hillgrove High School senior William Wizner proposed the ordinance as part of a school project.

Jump to full article »