Do you think smoking should be banned on beaches?

Question

Just wanted to ask a discussion-provoking question. Here's my take: I believe that LITTERING on the beach should be banned, and strictly enforced with fines. As a smoker, I always take a disposable container to put cigarette butts in. It annoys me to no end to see people putting their cigs out in the sand. However, I do not think smoking should be banned in an OUTDOOR location due to second hand smoke. I always make sure there is no one too close to me, esp. young children. If you are a non smoker, you can easily sit near people who do not smoke if it bothers you that much. Just seems very unconstitutional to ban smoking OUTSIDE.

Answer 1

No I don't think it should be banned on beaches at all.  I don't even think it should be restricted to designated areas.  It should be allowed period.

Answer 2

You seem very considerate - I'm sure many people appreciate that.

I'm a non-smoker.  Second-hand smoke doesn't bother me, but I realize it really bothers some other people (my mother, for instance).  I can smell second-hand smoke even if the smoker is like 30' away sometimes.

So I think I'd support having beaches with a designated smoking section.  How's that for a compromise?

Answer 3

As a smoker and someone who sunbathes a couple of times a week, I agree with all of your points, especially the littering issue.  I always bring a container for my butts as well.

I always pick a place away from others so as not to offend them with my smoking but if someone moves close to me then they will have to put up with my smoking.  

I only smoke about 1 cigarette an hour so it is not like I will completely stink up the beach, plus I look good in a bikini so I'm good to have around.

Answer 4

No I don't think that smoking should be banned on the beach or any other outdoor place other than in direct traffic of people.. Yes beaches should enforce their litter laws.

For the people who say it should be banned because of the environmental problem: I hope that you are the same people who religiously recycle, who use energy efficient light bulbs in all of their lamps, who use only recycled paper products, who never litter yourselves and who never drive any kind of motor vehicle because these too are environmental problems.

For those of you who say it should be banned because it is a health issue I advise you to never be outdoors because of all the other pollution in our air, of course once again to never drive a motor vehicle, to make sure your house is free of lead paint (many houses still have lead paint and the owners/renters don't know it), to never drink alcohol and call for it's banishment, to stop taking all medications because they all have negative health benefits, to never eat at a fast food restaurant and to never again eat red meat or mercury containing fish, beacuse these too are health issues.

To those of you who find it offensive I would like you to know that I find it offensive when you weigh 200 lbs and wear a tube top and hip hugger shorts, when you walk around drunk telling everyone how much you love them, when you pull out in front of me in your car and then drive slower than the speed limit, when you stand so close behind me in the checkout isle I could kiss you if I should turn around, when you let you kids run wild through any public place or your babies scream bloody murder in a resturaunt and act like you can't hear them, when you take your dogs to the beach and let pee in the water or to the park and let them poo at the playground, oh yeah I also find it offensive when you act like smokers have no rights and for some reason it is beneath you to move your lazy azz across the street because the smoke bothers you soooo much, it is just easier to complain .

Answer 5

No, I don't. It is stupid.

Answer 6

Yes.  People don't go to Beaches to deal with a cesspool of depravity.

Answer 7

I think it should be banned everywhere!!! I hate that disgusting smell and it looks so ridiculous when young ppl start bc they think it's cool and then they spend the rest of their lives trying to quit!!! What a waste!! Why would anyone want to smell smoke when at the beach! It should be banned!

Why should non smokers move bc ppl are smoking around them!! Some smokers are not as considerate as you are!! They don't care if there are children around or if it is obvious that smoke is blowing in the direction of the ppl around them! They just don't care and it's simply annoying and gross, especially if you are in public places! If you want to smoke, than leave that smell and ashes in the privacy of the INSIDE of your home!

Answer 8

I think smoking should be banned from PUBLIC places period!

I don't smoke,I don't need their toxic smoke in MY lungs!

EDIT:they should ban smoking for BOTH of those reasons!!

whether it is outside or not,you can still smell and breathe the awful gross smoke!!! no thanks!!!! not destroying MY lungs

Answer 9

Really, smoking should be illegal everywhere...its like cancer on a stick. And children and our elders are inhaling that c**p.

Answer 10

No. It isn't unconstitutional, but in my opinion it's going way too far.

Answer 11

YES, it should be banned!  Our beaches should not be treated like a giant ashtray, a litter box...or a city dump/landfill!  

I've participated in beach cleanups in Oregon and California and it just breaks my heart to see the kinds of junk that unthinking and inconsiderate people leave on our nation's beaches...everything from soda cans to dirty diapers to crack pipes!

People don't seem to realize that things left on the beaches like empty plastic drink containers, the plastic stuff that holds six packs together and cigarette butts are not only an eyesore, but also leaving stuff like that is a big contributor to the decline in animal habitat too. The junk gets swept out to sea and then can hurt and kill fish, mammals and birds...

Also, recklessly polluting the waters that people fish from as well as swim and surf in, causes health dangers, too. For example, surfers have been known to get sick off polluted waters caused by sewage effluents, toxic chemicals and nuclear waste.

There are a number of environmental groups working to help protect our beaches and seas, but everyone should be doing their part...and "doing your part" means not adding to the mess in the first place.  One really should leave a place cleaner than you found it...so that future generations can enjoy it, too...and that goes for beaches, forests, deserts, mountains, anyplace.

Re: the part about of "designated" smoking areas. That's not very practical for outdoors.  The wind blows smoke so it still affects non-smokers anyway...we all breathe it in and therefore still remain at risk.

Answer 12

I think it would be difficult to enforce a ban on smoking on the beach.  I'm a non-smoker, but I don't care if others smoke as long as it isn't near me.  However, a ban on smoking on the beach would be better for the environment.  According to a Virginia Waterways website, "Cigarette butts are the most common form of plastic litter on the beaches of the U.S. and world-wide. Toxic chemicals can leach out of the cigarette filters." So I think its great that you collect your cigarette butts and dispose of them elsewhere.