King County considers smoking ban in parks

Read more: http://www.freetobacco.info/

Following Seattle and other cities, the King County Council is considering a ban on smoking in county parks and recreational areas. Under the proposal, tobacco products would be banned in "high-use areas" like athletic fields, off-leash dog parks, parking lots, picnic shelters, playgrounds, basketball courts, and trailheads. The county operates 200 parks and 175 miles of regional trails. The legislation is scheduled for a hearing Wednesday before the Transportation, Economy and Environment committee. The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. "When people come to a public park, they expect to breathe fresh air – not someone else's cigarettes,"county Executive Dow Constantine said when the legislation was announced in April. The proposal would help reduce littering of cigarette butts and health problems associated with smoking and secondhand smoke, county official says. It has strong public support, officials say.

About 75 percent of customers in a parks department survey "strongly agreed or agreed that it is important to them that parks, trails and natural areas are free of tobacco use," according to the legislation. 'Tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death and illness in King County, and this ordinance would further expand our smoke-free spaces so children and families can be safe from second-hand smoke," said Councilmember Joe McDermott, the legislation's sponsor. Since the proposal applies to high-use areas, it wouldn't be a total ban. Smoking near a trailhead, where people congregate, would be prohibited. But lighting up further down the trail, and away from others, would be permitted. Compliance would be voluntary and enforced on a peer-to-peer basis, like littering, failure to keep a dog on a leash, or alcohol use in a park.

"Tobacco-free parks" signs, paid for by a federal grant, would be posted. Seattle imposed a smoking ban in 2010 but loosened the rule after public backlash to prohibit "smoking, chewing or other tobacco use" within 25 feet of other people, play areas and beaches. Almost 600 jurisdictions nationally have enacted smoke-free or tobacco-free policies for their parks, county officials say. Washington state residents in 2005 voted to ban smoking in bars, restaurants, night clubs and other public places. Smokers are supposed to stand 25 feet away from entrances. More than 45 cities in 15 counties in Washington have tobacco-free or smoke-free policies in place. In King County, six have bans on smoking or tobacco products, including Auburn, Burien, Covington, Snoqualmie and the Vashon Park District, county officials say.