Hawaii mulls smoking ban for beaches, parks

Hawaii has jumped on the non-smoking bandwagon, and is considering a non smoking ban for its public beaches and parks.

HONOLULU - Visitors flock to Hawaii’s shores to snorkel, surf and sink their feet into the unblemished white sands of the state’s beaches. But camouflaged among the coast’s glassy granules lies a hidden peril — seemingly indestructible cigarette butts cast away by smokers.

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Legislation failed to pass in California and Delaware so I wonder if it will pass here. Hawaii's tourism may play a role in the decision, since many tourist come from smoker friendly countries. I am against using beaches as ashtrays, but I still feel they are taking too many rights away from people.

Another case of a government consdering further needless laws instead of enforcing existing laws IMHO.
Hawaii already has anti littering laws, enforce them and there wont be ciggarette butts on the beach.

Well I'm a non-smoker & I hate those butts on the beaches, but I would never support a ban on smoking. Besides it's just as easy to enforce a ban on littering as a ban on smoking. If they can sit there hiding waiting for people to light up so they can write them a ticket if they ban smoking, why don't they just sit there and wait for them to throw the butts in the sand today & fine them for littering? Not to mention the fact that there's allot of other litter on the beaches besides cigs.

If tourist around the world found out Hawaii was doing this I believe it would definately have a negative impact on Hawaii's tourist dollar bottom line.

It's sad that so many smokers feel that anything they walk on is their ashtray. I used to get mad at my ex for using our yard as an ashtray. I would go around and pick them all up and then a few days later they would all be back there again. I could never get why she couldn't just put them in an ashtray. It came to a head one sunday morning when her daughter woke us up and said "mommy the deck upstairs is smoking". She had threw a cigarette in a planter the night before & the planter caught fire and eventually started burning deck boards. Had it not been damp out it may have burned the house down. I'm still pissed about it and It's been a couple years. Sorry for getting off topic & rambling.

Along with what outsider said,

if the problem is butts, and not smoking itself, then they should spend their money on getting people who drop the butts and fine them for littering. it'll clean up the beach and there's no need for another new law.

Littering laws are a joke, though. Everyone knows about them, but no one follows them. It's disgusting.

Originally posted by parrhesia

Littering laws are a joke, though. Everyone knows about them, but no one follows them. It's disgusting.

No one follows them because no one enforces them.