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by gilster
on Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:46 am |
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http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lismok0408,0,202549.story?coll=ny-top-headlines
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Example of no-smoking compliance
BY REID J. EPSTEIN
April 7, 2007, 8:49 PM EDT
If Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi wants to see what a smoking ban would look like at the county's parks and beaches, he need look only to Oyster Bay, which has had a smoking restriction since 2003.
Smoking at the town's parks and beaches is restricted to designated areas, and violators risk a fine of up to $250 or five days in jail. But the harsh penalties belie the reality: In four years, no one in Oyster Bay has ever been issued a ticket for illegal smoking in the parks.
"I don't want to go down in history as the town supervisor who put somebody in jail for smoking," said Supervisor John Venditto, himself a smoker.
No-smoking signs are posted throughout the parks and beaches, and parks employees who see people smoking outside of designated areas will politely ask the smoker to snuff out the cigarette, Venditto said. But there is no smoking court or puff police patrolling the parks.
"You have to be practical about this," Venditto said. "This is really not about punishing people as it is about getting compliance."
The Town of Huntington also has a smoking ban at its playgrounds, and like Oyster Bay, has never issued a fine. When asked, Town Councilman Mark Cuthbertson didn't even initially know the amount of the fine. (It's $75).
Mary Curtis, Suozzi's deputy county executive for health and human services, said the county's idea to ban smoking outdoors at parks and beaches would likely operate the same way as the town laws.
"It's not a revenue generator," she said. "The research shows that exposure to second-hand smoke for as little as 30 minutes can have negative consequences."
Oyster Bay's smoking restriction came at the urging of Claire Millman, a Plainview woman who is the president of Alliance for Smoke-Free Air. She said that once the town erected no-smoking signs in the parks, smoking effectively ceased there.
"The outdoor bans are self-enforcing because most people who see the signs posted will obey the law," she said.
Venditto, who smokes menthol cigarettes, said he supports efforts to ban smoking in county parks but can't hack a proposed $2 per pack cigarette tax.
"I believe it's a bit excessive," he said of the tax. "All other measures in the name of clean air, those I'm very, very strongly in favor of." |
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gilster
Smokers Rights Activist
Joined: Apr 19, 2006
Posts: 834
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by gregory
on Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:18 am |
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| Thanks Gilster, good thread. I've posted a challenge, a sceintific experiment, but no takers yet. |
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gregory
Enthusiastic Smoker
Joined: Mar 29, 2007
Posts: 270
Location: America...I think?
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