NEWS: Clean Beaches To Have A Bit Cleaner Air

CULTURE: Clean Beaches To Have A Bit Cleaner Air

Hawaii is thinking about a smoking ban, not in enclosed public spaces but on every beach. Smokers would have to use special bins to deposit their cigarettes or risk a fine of $250.

I'm all for a bit of health-fascism, but even I think this could be counter productive, causing resentment amoungst smokers for no real benefit.

Can I still piss in the ocean?

only if you are a non-smoker, smokers have to pee in designated areas or risk a $500 fine. If they catch you smoking while peeing in the ocean then they just feed you to the sharks. jk

That's lame, I hope it doesn't pass.

Los Angeles just passed laws banning smoking on the beaches, which is absofuckinglutely ridiculous. If you've ever been to a Los Angeles area beach, probably the last environmental concern is whether or not someone is smoking.

"Dammit I wanted SKIN cancer, not lung cancer! Put that thing out, I'm trying to sunbathe here!"

Even as a smoker, i support this. I've always found the incessant amount of cigarette butts in the sand rather disquieting. It doesn't paint a very pretty picture of nature in ones head as a child.

And if anyone needs to preserve their beaches, its Hawaii.

I'm of mixed emotions. It's kind of dumb and yet fuck if it isn't annoying finding all the stupid cigarettes on beaches. Though I don't know about what Sorcha is saying...yeah, there are shitty public beaches here, but most of the ones I've been on have been relatively clean. There are some really annoying people on them, but then, it's California.

Sorcha=Shalome?

Shut up, it's late or something. I'd correct it, but I'm lazy.

YES. best answer to any smoking ban ever.

smokin' is pretty gross unless youre nowhere near a beach (i.e The entire Midwest) in which case its apparently alright.

I like the gist of this idea but not the focus, myself.

I'm not so much worried about the effects of second-hand smoke on people at the beach as by the effects of non-biodegradable cigarette butts on the beach itself, and it sounds like this is actually the goal of the ban. Banning smoking on the beach is[/] probably the best solution to the problem as it would be ridiculously expensive to place butt-stops along the beach at intervals that are closely-spaced enough to be effective. Not to mention that it would be really ugly to look at.

So why talk about second-hand smoke? Doing so is guaranteed to piss off those of us who smoke!

Pardon my stray slash up there; I tried to fix it but my monitor places the emoticons right on top the the text I need to edit. Does anyone else have this problem?!

[Edited on Feb 16, 2005 2:35AM]

what about all the trash tourists leave? and their awful suntan lotion smell? (i'd rather smell smoke than tourist)
and how crappy every single public school is in the system?
and all the homeless people that use the entire fucking beach as a damn toilet.
cigarettes seem slightly low on the "what's wrong with hawaii" problem list.

Yup.

I agree.

Maybe have lots of bins and a non-smoking section of the beach?

So if your against this ... do you think smokers should be allowed to just leave their cigarette butts in the sand?

You arent alowed to smoke between the flags over here.
Its a good thing - I can actually breathe oxygen, not cancer fumes.
And theres no risk of standing on smouldering butts.


Its all good

I'm definately all for this. Maybe it's easier because I don't smoke, but so what? I'm sick of smokers saying they have the right to smoke, or that they are being oppressed. Cigarette butts take 25 years to decompose. That means you could go to the beach as a kid, then take your kid twenty years later (or whatever) and still step on that same fucking butt! That's three generations having to walk around on the same fucking butts.

Plus, call me names if you want but, I think it is more my right not to have to breathe in smoke then it is your right to get to breathe in smoke. I'd be perfectly happy if they banned smoking everywhere, hell just ban it altogether. I don't know how the government can ban heroin and weed and not ban cigarettes. (Nicotine is more addictive than heroin and crack).

I'll end this rant by stating a quote I heard on some smoking video my girlfriend (a nurse) brought home:
"Cigarettes are the only available product which if used as directed will kill you"

I'm not sure as to whether I should laugh or cry. How long do you think it will take for government(s) to prohibit people to smoke in their own homes if such bills are being passed? And then? What’s next?
If they want people to stop smoking they shouldn’t allow the sale of tobacco. Every time some government can't do something (or doesn’t want to do something) in order to stop some powerful group of people (tobacco companies in this case) from harming the civilians, they attack the users/addicts....just how lame is that? And then governments from other countries follow such examples because they want to look more “civilized”…..civilized my ASS!!!!! Democracy? Democratic Representative? Yeah right!!
I think that governments have much more important things to worry about than non smokers being bothered by tobacco smoke on a beach.

PS - Perhaps a fine for putting out cigarettes in the sand would be more appropriate in this case….

they can't even keep people from stealing your shit while your in the water, how are they going to enforce a smoking ban?

Wow. Stuff like this makes me want to have a cigarette, but I know it's bad for me.

Mission accomplished, Morality legislators!

Stepping on still burning cigarette butts is one sure fire way to ruin a good day at the beach...

We all know the ban won't work. How many cops would that take. I did here a great idea though, a 5 cent "deposit" on cig butts. $1 a pack extra, wouldn't cost much and hell you would have people lining up to pick them up.