Our view: Rehoboth Beach recently joined the growing ranks of coastal resort towns that ban smoking on the beach so why not Ocean City?
Polls show a majority of Americans support bans on smoking in public places. That wasn't true a decade ago, but the numbers are so high now — between 55 and 59 percent in recent years, according to Gallup — that a growing number of cities, towns and counties now restrict smoking in parks and other outdoor areas.
Last week, Rehoboth Beach joined the trend. Its commissioners voted to ban smoking not only on most of its beach but all along the town's boardwalk and bandstand. The ban, which takes effect on May 15, passed without objection.
That doesn't exactly make Rehoboth a rarity in the Mid-Atlantic coastal community. Within Delaware, Bethany Beach, Fenwick Island, Dewey Beach and the beachfront Delaware State Parks already ban smoking. Local residents were clearly ready for the change, hundreds having signed a petition requesting that Rehoboth Beach adopt the smoking ban.
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4 comments:
Let freedom ring??keep clapping you fools...this is nazi nanny state crap ..outdoor smoke is a second hand smoke problem now? Since when?? Some more junk science.?..even indoor ventilation voids the health issue for cig smoke... just More reasons for police to stop search harnass detain someone for A legal product...
The resorts have been providing to their tourists the ability to be around or away from smokers. Leave it at that. Too often, a nut job pops up and forgets that these are tourist areas, not hospital wards. Some OC merchants for example have invested in outdoor areas for smokers rather than turning away their busies. These are not good times so cut some slack. Anyone who can't tolerate the air at the beach is free to go somewhere else.
Let me preface this comment by saying that I'm a life-long smoker. Wish I wasn't, but I am. Don't judge.
That said, it is inevitable that this ban - and many other smoking related restrictions - will be applied very shortly.
So go ahead and "beat the rush" and call for the ban.
My parents smoked, and I remember my mother voicing her extreme displeasure at the management of the A&P Supermarket when they banned smoking while food shopping. "How can I shop without a cigarette??"
I even remember our family doctor smoking in the examination room!
It's a different time now - a different era. Things change.
It is, beyond any doubt, a disgusting and obnoxious behavior to many. To some even more than others. I respect that.
I wish I could quit entirely... But it's not going to happen. Tried many times.
So OC: Do it now. Ban the smokes. It's gonna happen eventually anyway.
Why waste all this time and effort and just go for what they really want and just outright make possession of tobacco illegal, after all it is just a 'weed'! They did it for cannabis sativa so what's the difference! Hang on smokers your own yard is next or your neighbor will sue you for smoking in your own yard! We smokers our going to have to go out 'back of the barn' to light up!
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