Laws regulating smoking are finally reaching outdoors but haven’t yet reached the Parkway.
An excerpt.
Monday morning: Surf's up, smoking isn't in San Diego
By M.S. Enkoji -- Bee Staff Writer Published 12:01 am PDT Monday, July 31, 2006
It's hard out there for a smoker.
And it just got a little harder in the seaside city of San Diego, where the City Council recently voted to ban smoking at public parks and beaches.
In a state where 14 percent of adults light up -- eight points lower than the national average -- the appeal of smoking bans is rapidly expanding from enclosed spaces to the great outdoors, said Debra Kelley, vice president of government relations for the San Diego office of the American Lung Association of California.
Science and public will are behind the trend, Kelley said.
Already, a large chunk of the California coastline favored by beachcombers is off-limits for smokers, from tony Newport Beach to the family-friendly Santa Cruz shoreline.
A 2004 attempt at a ban on state beaches and parks didn't catch fire with the Legislature, but that didn't stop cities and counties from individually telling smokers to butt out while strolling through Golden Gate Park in San Francisco or tossing in the surf at Malibu....
Sacramento city parks are not restricted for smokers beyond state law, which prevents smoking within 25 feet of playgrounds and within 20 feet from buildings.
The same applies to Sacramento County parks, including the American River Parkway.
