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• Belmar tightens beach smoking rules even further 

Cigarette breaks on the beach here are about to get more complicated.

Already known as the first beach in the continental United States to limit smoking to designated areas -- under a law passed in 2001 -- Belmar now plans to limit those areas even further, the Township Council announced today.

Until now, smokers were allowed to light up within 100 feet of smoking signs that stood every 400 feet along the beach. All told, 20 percent of the beach was set aside for smoking, enough to allow smokers to set up their chairs within the designated areas.

But beginning this beach season, each smoking area will shrink significantly, some to as small as 20 by 30 feet. Smokers will need to walk to the designated areas every time they feel an urge to puff.

And, unlike before, the boundaries of the smoking areas will be delineated by a plastic chain or a rope, to make enforcement easier.

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