The New York City smoking ban may just expand to parks and other outdoor venues like beaches. Right now New York bans smoking in indoor workplaces. Mayor Bloomberg and leaders of the City Council have backed the new ban on smoking in the great outdoors.
Proposed Bill will Expand New York City's Smoking Ban to Parks
The proposed bill will actually extend the Smoke Free Air Act of 2002. Currently that act protects people from having to endure smoke in officer, bars, restaurants and playground in an effort to keep unwanted and harmful secondhand smoke away from innocent bystanders.
Bloomberg said at a news conference, “The science is clear: prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke -- whether you’re indoors or out -- hurts your health. Today, we’re doing something about it.†Tobacco use is a bit of a target for the mayor both professionally and personally. New York City has a combined state and city tax of $4.50 per pack, which is huge.
Success of New York City's Anti-smoking Measures
These measures have actually cut cigarette smoking among teens in the city in half, which is a fantastic drop. Even the smoking rate among adults in NYC has dropped from 21.7 percent to 15.8 percent, which is also a great drop in the rates. About 7,500 New Yorkers die from cigarettes each year.
 The fine for violating the law would be about $50, and the law would be enforced by the Parks Department. What do you think about the proposed law? Will it pass? Should it pass? It seems like NYC is moving in the right direction for helping people not smoke.
© Copyright: News Today Online by Kate James at Gather.com
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Comments: 5
Remember the outdoors in New York is not so great, it is just outside all those big buildings filled with people. If they are went out and smoked they would all be getting second hand smoke that's fairly concentrated in addition to all the car and bus exhaust.
I remember visiting New York as a kid and remembering how it always smelled like stale cigar butts and bus diesel fumes. It's a lot better these days.