Posted on 07/25/2014 8:35:42 AM PDT by Drango
Any beachgoers that enjoy puffing away on a cigarette while they sit on the sand or frolic in the surf may have to get their nicotine fix elsewhere, as Oregon has proposed a ban on smoking that would include all 362 miles of beaches on its coastline.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has followed up an earlier ban on smoking at most state park properties with this proposal, partly because the agency is worried that all those smokers pushed out of parks will come to the beach, reports the Associated Press.
The move would also serve to cut down on litter on the beaches and ensure consistent rules throughout the entire state parks system, an agency spokesman added.
According to the executive director of a nonprofit organization called SOLVE that collects trash on Oregon beaches, cigarette butts are the most prolific item.
“Most of the debris picked up by the volunteers consists of either small plastic items or cigarette butts, which both harm marine life in various ways,” she told the AP.
Those caught smoking could face a $110 fine under the proposed ban, though the department would rather educate visitors and save the heavy fines for the worst repeat offenders. Park rangers would be responsible for enforcing the ban, as they are for the February ban that only allows smoking inside vehicles or campsites when on state park property, or in specially designated areas in day-use parks.
Rangers have already started asking people to put out their cigarettes in state parks, but won’t start ticketing anyone until next year, the spokesperson adds.
I lost my Oregon list when my computer crashed recently,
...you don’t happen to work for the IRS, do you?...
Buy filter-less cigarettes and learn to fieldstrip.
If litter is the problem, then here's a novel idea... make it illegal to litter.
I suspect the litter aspect is more of an excuse to ban smoking than a real reason.
“Smokers routinely claim THEY don’t litter...evidence suggests otherwise.”
So fine the people who LITTER. I detest smoking; but I detest government control over peoples lives much more.
If people want to suck smoke into their lungs and shorten their lives; so be it; let them. It’s not the governments role or job to hassle people doing something legal.
This is just a way to give more government control over peoples lives.
I have never noticed cigarette butts being a major source of pollution on a ocean beach!
You forgot to include:
WALKING,
SLEEPING,
SITTING,
STANDING,
RECLINING,
BEING ON THE BEACH OR WITHIN 100 YARDS OF THE BEACH
OR SWIMMING OFF/ALONG THE BEACH
Why not put a redemption value on cig butts like bottles and cans. It would raise the cost of a pack, but you’d get it back when you turned your butts back in. And it would give the homeless people another revenue stream.
Of course.
I’ve honestly never seen a smoker who didn’t litter.
Never.
I never litter.
Smokers routinely claim THEY don’t litter...evidence suggests otherwise.
Think about it for one minute - do smokers on the beach bring personal ashtrays? Seriously doubt it.
Good idea!
BS. Most litter is energy bar wrappers and “natural” juice containers. You don’t even care about litter. This is just more of your statist war on tobacco smokers.
Will they be able to vape?
I never litter. Anywhere. Never have.
Nanny State ping.
“Oregon Proposes Smoking Ban For All 362 Miles Of Its Coastline”
Tyranny on the march. There is no end to the desire to regulate and control others’ lives by leftists.
If the issue is people tossing butts, then fine them for littering but not for smoking. If someone lights up close to you and you don’t like it, move.
What’s next, outlawing eating potato chips on the beach because they are unhealthy and make you fat, and if dropped on the beach will make the sea gulls fat?
And then fine you unless you can prove your sun screen is not a high enough SPF?
Addicts List ping. (fixed it for you)
Where is your Statists Ping List? Or do you prefer to call yourself a Nico-Nazi?
I was a smoker for many years. We have a boat in the Marina in Ventura so I have spent many many hours on the beaches there. I never took an ashtray with me but I would put the butts out in the sand and then put the butts back in my cigarette pack to be disposed of in the garbage when we got back to the boat.
” At that age, who cares?”
—
I’m 81. What are you saying here?
.
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