World's Largest Ashtray

[jhonenfreak]

~READ FIRST~
Most people on this site are under the legal smoking age (as if most people care anymore), so to keep this poll as fair as possible please vote as you would if you were/are at least the legal age. Remember, this is just for the ban on beach smoking, not everywhere. Lately beaches up and down America's coastlines have actually been making this policy a law, so I was curious on individual's input.

Personally, I would vote for a ban on smoking in all public places. You know those signs on the highways that say "littering is illegal"? If road pollution is against the law, why not air pollution? But that's just me.
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[KFelidae]

As much as smoking annoys, me, it IS outside. If someone doesn't like it, they can easily move away. The only thing that should be cracked down on is the littering aspect: people leaving the butts of their cigarettes everywhere.

But making smoking illegal makes it too easy to make so much else illegal, too. If smoking is banned under a "distrupting behavior" law, who's to say that a protest couldn't be called wrong under the same?


-KF

[Paru]

I agree that it should be banned. You're right, it is air pollution, not to mention that it stinks up the place. Besides there are so many places that are specifically designed for people to smoke in, it really wouldn't effect anyone so terribly not to be able to smoke at the beaches. In fact, if people really want to smoke that badly, they can just as easily do it at home and let the other folks have clean air.
There's my two cents.
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[Lexar]

How is smoking air pollution??? Do you know how many sigarettes you need to equal one trip in a car? I don't but it's a LOT! Besides it's outside. It's not like the smoke lingers around or anything. Theres no problem if the sigarette butts are cleaned up and really people, there aren't that many places designed for smokers.

[maridah]

I personally am easily affected by cig smoke. It makes me sick so I can't be around it. When restaurants in my area started banning smoking inside I was so very happy. Less coughing for me but allot of smokers complained. Personally, I think it's rude to smoke in public. It's a habit and its hazardous to everyone's health, not to mention, not everyone wants to be engulfed in a cloud someone is puffing.
Having spent time outside of America, and seeing how other countries smoke like a chimney, and feeling like hell breathing in closed areas, I can honestly say its a wonderful thing that people cant smoke in buildings here in most of America.
But it is outdoorsso the argument changes for most people. The smoke dissipates quicker, but its still rude to others. If smoking on beaches was made illegal, there would be less trash (cig butts) messing up the beaches tooNot every smoker is a litterer, but tons are. People dont seem to care about tossing butts on the ground, especially on places like the beach.
If this were a matter of banning certain bathing suits, Id say hell no! but this is a matter of public heath. Smokers can complain all they want, but those of us who like our lungs healthy and cancer-free dont appreciate the selfishness of those who puff away at our (and their) expense.
Personally, I think it's worse when parents smoke around small chidren at home...that's the worst. Those poor kids don't get to choose what happens to thier health then...

[jhonenfreak]

[quote="Lexar (Lexar)"] How is smoking air pollution??? Do you know how many sigarettes you need to equal one trip in a car? [/quote]
Do you know how many different types of carcinogens are in one cigarette? Secondhand smoking is like a slow mass murder of anything that breathes. Unlike cars, smoking has no positive use.

Back to the subject of the beach... too many people use it as an ashtray. A few people can ruin it for everyone. We've all delt with this policy before, so why not now?
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[ChrisFox]

[quote="jhonenfreak (Amy H)"] You know those signs on the highways that say "littering is illegal"? If road pollution is against the law, why not air pollution? But that's just me. [/quote]
If that were the case multi-billion-dollar corporations would go bankrupt because of lawsuits and arrests of those in charge. We'd all love for this to happen, but it never will because they control the world.

As for smoking, I'm not a fan of it, but some of the laws they have on it now are absurd. No smoking in a bar? People are there to drink poison and get laid with someone they just met smoking shouldn't matter much in a bar. (Excuse the paraphrasing of Greg Proops)

Smoking on a beach isn't really all that bad, either..long as you're not blowing it in other people's faces or leaving your cig-butts in the sand and what not I don't see a huge problem with it. There's plenty of free air on a beach, you don't want to breathe someone's smoke plenty of room to move away, or politely ask them to move somewhere else.

Obviously people are going to smoke no matter how many laws are layed down and the more laws there are, the angrier smokers'll get. Angry smokers who can't smoke anywhere except in limited areas is a very dangerous issue..
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[Myst]

I don't really like smoke. It kinda bugs me, but I don't think it should be banned at a beach. It's a big wide open space.

If people wanna smoke and die of lung cancer than that's their choice. I asked my friend why she smoked and she said that most people die of one cancer or another so why not know what cancer you're going to die of. That is kind of a good point

[Papercut_Dragon]

I don't think it should be banned on the beach. People would probably smoke there anyway, even if it was banned, because that's a hard law to reinforce. Especially in winter and such when there's no lifeguards around. Let them smoke, it'll come around later to bite them in the ass (cancer). If the beach is too crowded to move, just ask them to stop, ask them to go somewhere else while they smoke, or you just take a walk down to the ocean while they finish.
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[ragingflea002]

It should be banned, but it won't be. In order for the smoke to become a true hazzard to the masses, everyone would have to smoke at least 200,000 cigarettes a day. It's hazzardous to yourself if you smoke progressively, but designated smoking areas are in restaraunts and public places in the United States and in Canada, I think.
The open air on the beach is the one reason it might not be banned. There is a lot of oxygen in the open, and there are tons of trees to provide more. As long as there are abundant tree populations, the air on a beach will be fresh, unless there was a fire in a beach house. There will be more oxygen than the smoke, and unless you're really close to the person, few people will be affected.
The only thing that is a real issue is the disposal of the butts. If they are still hot and there are articles of clothing, food, sand dunes, etc. nearby, that may pose a genuine hazzard. Fires have started down on South Carolina's Folly and Myrtle Beaches as result of those actions.
Unfortunately, laws are made to be broken, and if a law was passed, people would break it and they wouldn't care.
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[jhonenfreak]

[quote]People would probably smoke there anyway, even if it was banned, because that's a hard law to reinforce.[/quote]
[quote]Unfortunately, laws are made to be broken, and if a law was passed, people would break it and they wouldn't care. [/quote]

Let 'em smoke if they want to. If they're willing to pay a $250 fine everytime they're caught that's not my problem.

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[Jill_V]

I say smoke all you want at the beach, though if you litter get a fine for $2000

[Raymei]

i work at a restaurant in CAlifornia.

In case you guys don't live in California... there was a law passed some time ago making it illegal to smoke in any restaurants and bars (yay!)

I have to deal with some really nasty people pissed off because they can't smoke on the patio (outside, but still part of the restaurant)
The reason why I think smoking should be illegal entirely is because people who smoke tend to be very inconsiderate with their habbit.

Side-stream smoke (aka, second-hand smoke) is far more dangerous than main-stream (the filtered smoke people pay and light up for)
They don't realize that their smoke floating from their cigarrettes and mouths does not just harmlessly disappear into the air. Other people (adults AND children) who choose NOT to put themselves at such high risk are breathing it too, involuntarily.

So, yeah, while they're outside, their servers are still breathing it in (they HAVE to serve them...) and the people walking around the area (very popular, etc) are being exposed to it as well.



I think they should ban cigarrettes just as quickly as they would ban "kiddy arsenic"