Nearly 500 cities throughout the country have banned smoking in public parks and beaches- and Boston may soon join this growing number.
According to a recent article in the Boston Globe, two Boston City Councilors brought up the smoking ban proposal to City Council as an effort to officially eliminate smoking in public parks and beaches. Major cities that have already taken action include Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City.
“We want these public places to be smoke-free so that everyone can enjoy our parks, can enjoy our beaches, can enjoy our public spaces without injury to their health,” said Councilor Felix G. Arroyo of the proposal.
The U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have all classified secondhand smoke as “a known human carcinogen” or cancer-causing agent.
Two reasons behind the proposed ban are to prevent second-hand smoke exposure to non-smokers and children, and, it is believed the smoking ban will lead to a decrease of litter on the ground in these public places.
“As a smoker myself, I don’t like this proposal at all. I can understand not smoking in buildings, but smoking outside at a park should be a freedom,” said Suffolk senior Liz Weatherly.
According to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, several Massachusetts cities and towns have already enacted the non-smoking ban in parks and beaches. But when does the action to prevent smoking in public places start to violate the rights of smokers?
“Smokers should be able to smoke anywhere outside. Most buildings don’t allow smokers to smoke inside, so that’s why people go outside,” said Ryan Leonard, barber at Boston Barber Co. in the North End. “There shouldn’t be restrictions on smoking outdoors.”
“If the proposal goes through, then where do they expect people to go smoke? If people are smoking in big wide open areas, the extent of second hand smoke can’t be that bad,” said Suffolk sophomore Brielle Fredrick Osborne. “I’d rather have smokers smoke in big spaces like parks than outside of [campus academic buildings] Sawyer or Donahue.”
Although the proposal has been presented before City Council, it will be months before official action to undergo a non-smoking ban in parks and beaches is enacted in Boston.
