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Concerns for the environment and risk of second-hand smoke cited as reasons for action
State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) said Thursday she will introduce a bill to ban smoking at all state, county and municipal parks and beaches.
Buono cited environmental concerns and the risk of second-hand smoke as the reasons.
"While cigarette smoking has declined dramatically since the first Surgeon General's report more than 40 years ago, tobacco continues to take a deadly toll," Buono said. "A report on tobacco use in America by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies found that among the 440,000 annual deaths caused by tobacco are 50,000 non-smokers killed by the smoking of others."
Buono said the report points out smoking kills more people each year than AIDS, alcohol use, cocaine use, heroin use, homicides, suicides, motor vehicle accidents and fires, combined.
An avid runner, Buono said her personal experiences with cigarette smoke while running in public parks, in part, prompting the legislation."This issue has been on my agenda for a long time," she said. "Now we have empirical data which support the passage of this public health and environmental protection measure."
Buono is prepared to introduce the legislation when the Senate reconvenes, probably in November.
The senator said other cities and states have banned or are considering banning smoking in public parks and beaches. New York City's health commissioner recently recently announced a plan to ban smoking in public parks and on city beaches.
A Stanford University study published in the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association in 2007, represents the first peer-reviewed publication providing evidence that levels of outdoor tobacco smoke can be substantial under certain circumstances. Children who accompany a smoking adult outdoors can experience significant exposure to tobacco smoke, the study found. It also found that even short-term exposure to outdoor tobacco smoke for people who are at risk of coronary heart disease or have known coronary artery disease "might be life threatening."
"This in-depth study substantiates that even brief exposure within a few feet of someone smoking outdoors can be significant,'' Buono said "That finding, which measures outdoor tobacco smoke and estimates its health risks, must guide outdoor tobacco control policy."
Buono said a similar smoking ban limited to state parks and parts of state beaches, has been proposed in California, where the sponsors have cited the damage to the marine environment, in addition to the well-documented health risks to non-smokers.
The sponsor of the California bill pointed out that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined cigarette butts are the most frequently found marine debris item in the United States. And wild fires caused by cigarettes have destroyed thousands of homes and property in California.
"Cigarettes are legal and adults have the right choose whether they want to smoke," Sen. Buono said. "But they don't have a right to impose upon the non-smoking public the health risks and environmental degradation caused by smoking. Our public parks and beaches are paid for by taxpayers and should be available for use by everyone without having to worry about being harmed by the hazards associated with secondhand smoke."
Buono is also the sponsor of Senate bill S-1115, which would extend a business tax credit to provide employees with benefits that promote physical fitness and well-being. She is also sponsor of the bill, signed into law in 2005, which prohibits smoking in any building used as a student dormitory.
Presently, the only smoke-free zone in state-run parks and beaches is the swimming area at Island Beach State Park. Elaine Makatura, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman, said the ban is enforced during the swimming season. She noted there is a smoking ban in state-run buildings, including visitor centers and museums. A violator can be fined more than $75.
— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
