Smoking bans spreading in North County - Encinitas, Carlsbad are latest to investigate ordinances

By: ADAM KAYE - North County Times | Sunday, November 18, 2007 9:33 AM PST ∞

A smoker who did not want to be identified enjoys the beautiful day overlooking Moonlight Beach in Encinitas on Tuesday.
JAMIE SCOTT LYTLE Staff Photographer
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NORTH COUNTY - At its beaches and parks, North County is becoming a tough place to be a smoker.

Municipal smoking bans are accumulating like butts in an ashtray and now exist in half a dozen cities in the region from Del Mar to Oceanside to Poway.

On the vanguard of such bans was little Solana Beach, a town that made national headlines in 2003 as the first city in the country to outlaw smoking on its shoreline.

City leaders cited the dangers of secondhand smoke and the number of butts left strewn across the sand as reasons for the ordinance.

Last week, the Encinitas City Council moved toward enacting a similar beach ban, and the Carlsbad City Council told its staff to return with information about smoking policies in other cities.

The spread of such no-smoking laws has encountered little opposition in North County, but groups have formed elsewhere to trumpet smokers' rights.

A leader of one such group said Friday that municipal governments were taking their anti-smoking crusade too far.

"It's not the cities' or the state's job to legislate how we live our lives," said Robert Best, who lives in Ventura and is the California representative for a group called The Freedom Alliance.

"We're not banning food on parks and beaches because of a littering problem," he said. "We're only banning smoking because smoking is not popular right now."

Trail blazer

Teens were the driving force behind the smoking ban on beaches in Solana Beach. The Youth Tobacco Prevention Corps, a division of the San Dieguito Alliance for Drug-Free Youth, lobbied the council in 2003 to enact a ban.

"We started the wave (of beach smoking bans)," Candice Porter, the teens' adult adviser, said last week. "I don't know how many beaches and parks are smoke-free now, but it's a lot."

In approaching city leaders, the teens said secondhand smoke presented health risks and that litter from cigarette butts endangered children and wildlife and fouled the beaches.

As evidence, they showed City Council members what the teens dubbed the "butt tub" - a plastic bin containing 6,437 butts collected by 30 people during one hour at Moonlight Beach.

Today, signs in Solana Beach tell visitors that smoking is off-limits on city beaches, and for the most part, people appear to have complied.

According to the county Sheriff's Department, one citation was issued, in 2006, to a person who violated the smoking ban.

Del Mar

In 2006, Del Mar council members banned beach smoking, joining their peers in Solana Beach. Nearly 20 years before that, Del Mar voters rejected a 1987 ballot initiative that attempted to ban public smoking. The measure drew international attention.

Like the move in Solana Beach, Del Mar's ban came at the request of the Youth Tobacco Prevention Corps.

The ban in Del Mar includes parks, beaches, sea walls and adjacent sidewalks, stairs and street ends. Outdoor smoking in restaurants may not exceed 50 percent of the outdoor seating area.

Del Mar officials say they rely largely upon an honor system to enforce the ban.

Up the coast

In April, Oceanside, North County's largest coastal city, banned smoking at beaches, parks and on the Oceanside Municipal Pier.

The smoking ordinance in Oceanside, which also relies mostly on self-policing for enforcement, does not apply to golf courses or the pierside band shell.

The official debate among city leaders hinged on public health and safety versus big government.

"Are we going to be a nanny for everyone?" Councilman Jerry Kern asked his colleagues earlier this year, before casting the lone vote against the ban. During his remarks, Kern raised a cigar, which he said he smokes during Sunday walks on the beach.

"This is sacred to me," Kern said.

Like Kern, local activist Jimmy Knott III found himself in the minority as he spoke against the ban.

"I believe this is a step too far," Knott said at the meeting. "It takes away freedoms and rights of individuals."

Coastal holdouts

Armed with a victory in Solana Beach, the Youth Tobacco Prevention Corps lobbied the Encinitas City Council in 2004 to enact a beach smoking ban.

After all, the teens had filled that butt tub at Moonlight Beach, which is in Encinitas and is one of the busiest beaches in the county.

But the council majority refused to entertain a ban until last week, when a unanimous vote directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would prohibit smoking at beaches, parks, trails and outdoor dining areas.

Also last week, the Carlsbad City Council debated a potential smoking ban during a city workshop. Council members - some of them worried that their beaches would be the last place to smoke legally on North County's shoreline - directed their staff to outline the smoking policies of other cities in a report.

"Apparently, we're the last one to consider a smoking ban," Councilman Mark Packard said.

City and county

Smoke a cigarette at beaches, parks and city-owned golf courses in San Diego and risk fines up to $1,000. Since August of 2006, that's been the law.

San Diego's city limits extend well into North County, including an extensive park system in Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos, Carmel Mountain Ranch and Carmel Valley.

The smoking ban also applies to Qualcomm Stadium, where in August, at the San Diego Chargers' opening day game, 255 people were ejected for smoking. Among them, 105 were arrested.

Months before the city smoking ban took place, the county Board of Supervisors approved banning smoking in the county's 40,000 acres of parks and 300 miles of hiking trails.

Bill Horn, who represents inland North County, cast the lone vote against the ban, saying it was an "intrusion on personal liberties."

Inland action

As of last spring, smoking became illegal on trails and in parks in Poway. That city's staff brought forward issues that, in large part, echoed those of coastal cities: that smoking is a fire hazard, threatens public health and creates litter. They added that cigarette butts are the most common form of trash picked up in parks and on trails.

While other cities of inland North County have not enacted specific smoking bans of their own, Vista and Escondido have built upon smoking restrictions contained in state law.

California outlawed smoking in bars and restaurants in 1998, extending a statewide workplace smoking ban that took effect 1994.

State laws also prohibit smoking within 20 feet of the doors and operable windows of public buildings and within 25 feet of playgrounds. Vista extended that smoking ban to within 35 feet of doors and operable windows of public buildings; Escondido's prohibition extends to 80 feet.

San Marcos has no smoking ban.

Staff writers Gig Conaughton, David Garrick and Barbara Henry contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 901-4074 or akaye@nctimes.com.

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

A sad day..... wrote on Nov 18, 2007 11:03 AM:when responsible adults can't enjoy rich tobacco flavor out of doors in the greatest state in the union. I hope all fans fo tobacco remember that there are many types of savorty chewing tobacco readily available to responsible adults at their local grocer. I work for a tobacco company and I plan on experiencing the nerve-soothing, senuous taste of tobacco at the beach.

sunday weiss wrote on Nov 18, 2007 1:14 PM:To the author of a sad day, smokeless tobacco is a better alternative to the polution smoked tobacco puts out, but a tobacco patch would be even more nerve soothing and less offensive than the nasty mucus and spit by products of smokeless tobacco. Tobacco patches are the least offensive,cleanest delivery system for people in the greatest state of the union to get their nerve soothing tobacco.

Dear sunday.... wrote on Nov 18, 2007 1:32 PM:but what about the rich tobacco flavor which is the REAL reason folks use the many fine products my company makes? The patch only delivers nicotine. Real tobacco is a natural product chockful of flavorly goodness.

Alf wrote on Nov 18, 2007 1:51 PM:Big Brother controls (or wants to control) what you do, if you do it, when you do it and where you do it. Aren't you glad to live in the greatest country on Earth, the one that prides itself on personal freedoms? Oops, I forgot, the thought police might not like me having an independent thought. Sorry, Comrade Lamp, I didn't mean to think. Regards, Alf.

james wrote on Nov 18, 2007 3:49 PM:To smoke is to live. leave me alone while I live and I will leave you alone while you live. Smoke on , smoke on.

Done wrote on Nov 18, 2007 5:15 PM:I'm done smelling the smoke from your cancerstick. It may not be a true health hazard outside, but that is a handy excuse while not really the issue. The real issue is that your smoke is annoying and I no longer feel a need to put up with it. There is NO right to smoke in this country. Get with the program and quit using a flame based nicotine delivery system you nicotine addicts. At least heroin junkie's have the courtesy to quietly inject without disturbing others while satisfying their tragic addiction.

Stacey wrote on Nov 18, 2007 6:21 PM:I'm a former smoker who can't stand the slightest smell of cigarette smoke. On a personal level I have to say that I would love nothing more than to see smoking banned period due to its foul odor and inconsiderate participants who toss their garbage recklessly about. However, I also have to see the bigger picture and recognize the inherent danger in allowing the goverment to restrict that which I don't agree with because, as soon as they are done with my dislikes, they are sure to start focusing on my likes. How about a compromise? I will continue to keep my vice from affecting those around me by doing it in the privacy of my own home ... perhaps smokers can do the same?

To James wrote on Nov 18, 2007 6:22 PM:Sounds like you need to get out more!

Nick wrote on Nov 18, 2007 6:53 PM:"Done" is the perfect example of the vehemently rude anti-smokers out there these days. With and attitude like yours, I would more then likely blow my smoke right in your face instead of being considerate like usual. I would love for you to try that attitude to my face in public and see where it get's you. They can pass all the laws they want, but smokers are still going to smoke. Call a cop and see if that works for you, but it won't. Next, they'll be taxing booze just like cigarettes and then all the beer, liquor, and wine loving anti-smokers will start to whine that they're being singled out, and no one will care. When diesel fuel hit's $4.00 a gallon and cigarettes are $7.00 a pack, it won't mean a thing. I work hard and I can afford it. So here's to my tax dollars teaching kids how to speak English in our public schools, cheers!

To Done wrote on Nov 18, 2007 7:06 PM:I find children annoying. They have damaged my hearing, with their laughter, their yelling, and their crying. Not to mention I don't like the way they smell. I want them banned from beaches, for my own benefit cause I don't like them. Or let's ban fast food. There's always burrito wrappers, In-N-Out cups, McD's trash, and Jack in the Box litter all over the field in PB. Let's ban all trash-causers. These are just as reasonable, right?

exvet wrote on Nov 18, 2007 7:58 PM:You know all you people that want to take away all freedoms from everyone BUT yourselves,why don't you start with the real problems like DRUNKS!!!! OH i'm sorry thats not as easy as create a new ban.

JohnnyTrigger wrote on Nov 18, 2007 8:09 PM:smoking doesn't cause litter... litterbugs cause litter

james wrote on Nov 19, 2007 8:54 AM:There is an option now for people who smoke - and it's not gum or patches. There is a new 'electric' cigarette that you can smoke anywhere, anytime. The company has received approval from the TSA, so you can smoke it on a plane. It provide nicotine, but no carcinogens. Taste like tobacco and even give a warm vapor down you throat. It is awesome. I now smoke anywhere i want to and NO one can anything about it because the device as NO tobacco. It's a life saver for me. ...

health risk wrote on Nov 19, 2007 2:38 PM:Here's some info. for those of you who think there is no risk or danger when smoke is present outdoors: exposure to secondhand smoke is responsible for over 3,000 deaths from lung cancer among NON-SMOKERS each year in the U.S. and is the country's 3rd leading PREVENTABLE cause of death after direct smoking and alcohol. Outdoors, secondhand smoke saturates an area if no wind is present and when windy, the smoke will increase in concentration and move downward. And for those of you who believe your rights are being violated, here's a news flash... smokers are not a protected group under the consistution, so you have no right to smoke, and those of us who want to live healthy, toxic free lives have the right to breathe fresh air.

To Health Risk wrote on Nov 19, 2007 8:12 PM:I am a non-smoker and largely anti-smoker, but I have to comment on the following ... "those of us who want to live healthy, toxic free lives have the right to breathe fresh air." ... While I agree, I would like to know where you think you are going to find that fresh air. You can't seriously think that cigarettes are the only air pollutant around do you?

Priorities wrote on Nov 20, 2007 10:05 PM:I completely agree that we must clean up our beaches and public parks but this is rediculous. San Diego county really needs to get their priorities straight. We should be focusing on global warming (which is the main culprit for the wildfires), working on stopping real air pollution caused by our beloved vehicles and industries, cleaning up trash on said beaches and parks, and getting this disgusting sewage out of ALL ocean water so that we may prevent further beach contamination advisories. Also, we must STOP these newly written bans from targeting our own citizens, our families, friends, and loved ones and turning them into criminals. YES, these cigarettes sold in EVERY store are indeed toxic with all kinds of additives and poisons that are not naturally found in the tobacco leaf. The true criminals are these tobacco companies. We must hold these deceitful corporations accountable for every single death and cancer diagnosis they have caused with their "cancer sticks" first and foremost.

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