Tobacco.org

Ifs, butts greet talk of ban 

Maryland residents are just getting used to a smoking ban imposed Feb. 1 in restaurants and bars, but the public debate over lighting up may not end with inside spaces. A small Delaware town is preparing to ban smoking on its beach and boardwalk, and other municipalities along the coast are taking notice.

Cigarette butts add to beach clean-up efforts -- they usually have to be picked up by hand, rather than by a machine -- and the smoke can bother tourists sitting downwind, ban proponents say. Others counter that prohibiting smoking outdoors, even in crowded areas like boardwalks and beaches, is the height of government intrusion. . . .

The town council of Bethany Beach, Del. -- about 15 miles north of Ocean City -- voted last week to draft smoking prohibitions for the beach and boardwalk during the summer and for the parks and bandstand all year. Eight designated smoking areas would be created along the back of the beach.

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