Parks, Schoolyards Could Become Smoke-Free

Great idea. Above all it sends a message to children about the danger of smoking. No smoking signs should be posted along with info on resources to help individuals who would like to quit.

About time. Look at all the sickness & deaths from tobacco use. Look at all the money that can be saved. 1 pack almost at $10.00. Give me a break.

25% of us have asthma. The includes adults and children. Unfortunately people who smoke may be extremely addicted or need it to relax or because they have nothing to replace it with (as mentioned in the new book, Hand To Mouth< about living at minimum wage (essentially homeless).

PLEASE BAN SMOKING. New homeless housing will not allow smoking either because it's too much of a fire risk.

Freedom and Smell Test Notes:

Give Me A Break Notes:

I'd say yes, but only because I'm sick of cigarette butts everywhere

Thank You Noteworthy for your facts against the Nanny State.....

Noteworthy, a property owner can legitimately regulate behavior on his/her/its property. If I don't let people smoke in my home, that's my business. The City of New Haven owns the parks, etc. it can ban smoking, even if the risk to third parties is minimal.

Can someone answer this question.If this law is pass will it cover E-Cigarettes?

NOTEWORTHY,

Sorry it's rare but I disagree.

Somebody who imposed upon you the inhalation of smoke is an @$$hole! That's not acceptable behavior in shared public space. You can't claim freedom that restrict others freedom and a basic freedom is breathing clean air.

For the science..,talk to the Anerican Cancer Society because they also disagree with you.

http://m.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/secondhand-smoke

This is just Harp's formula for new jobs and appointees -- Cigarette Cops and Do-Gooding Neighborhood Narcs....

I will start smoking cigarettes again (strictly in public) just to protest his inanity.

and 3/5th's --The E-Cigs Ban will be later -- a few years after the first ban has been codified, and the shield of 'Public Health' suddenly evaporates. They might have weed to deal with by then too.

Public Health deals with little more than Rat's and Sewers. Unfortunately, none of these Politicians are saving anyone from 'The Plague'.

3/5ths - good question. I suspect the answer depends on what the ordinance is trying to do. If its goal is to minimize second hand exposure, then it should apply. But if the goal is to reduce smoking, then the city might want to accommodate people who are using e-cigarettes as a way of quitting.

Bradley- it's not a matter of ability, it's whether it should be done. What you choose to do with your own private property is your business. We all own the public land and air. We all pay dearly for it. It is always those who don't do something who want to take away the freedoms and personal choice of those who do. The same is true for sugar drinks from bans to taxation. Cancer society? Please. There are always special interest groups who regularly publish reports urging a reduction in our freedom in order to accomplish what they see as their mission. The best health advice is not banning - it is education particularly when it comes to public assets.

OK forget about advocacy organizations; lets refer to the CDCs fact sheet on Second Hand Smoke. The glossary goes like this:

Secondhand Smoke Causes Cardiovascular Disease
Secondhand Smoke Causes Lung Cancer
Secondhand Smoke Causes SIDS
Secondhand Smoke Harms Children

Fact. Not opinion.

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/health_effects/?mobile=nocontent

Robn,

But if a tree falls in the woods, and no one hears it, does it make a sound... (yes, this is a metaphor)

Robn:

The science that's missing is the related to second hand smoke in the outdoors, not in confined spaces with recycled air. There is a huge difference.

NW
The science is based upon smoke entering other people's lungs. If other people smell it they're inhaling it.

BS
Do what you want when you're alone but public spaces are by their nature, usually occupied by more than one person.

Well Robn, if you see me smoking in East Rock Park, you can walk the other direction until you have calculated the mean circumference of the buffer zone required for your protection.

I would say there is plenty of room for non-smokers and smokers alike to play together in public space. Let's not turn into California.

BS

The only difference between smoking in public and throwing a bucket of water at the face of a stranger is that water in non-carcinogenic. See you in the park.

Such intolerance, Robn. You should be ashamed.

BS,

Tell that to asthmatics.

If you drove to the top of East Rock, you have more to apologize to the asthmatics about than me, who is minding his own business, quietly smoking a cigarette alone in an open field......

This is completely absurd. First off doesn't the city have more pressing issues to deal with, such as police officers who consort with hoodlums? Secondly this could be construed as unconstitutional whereas the city is aligning itself for adverse litigation, not because anyone actually cares, but because a "lawyer" could certainly make a name for oneself by suing the city over this issue, I would be first in line if I had a license to practice, I also know a few that would have a field day with this.
Thirdly, if anyone cared and they actually passed this sorry excuse for legislation,does the city have the resources to enforce it? I think not as they can't even enforce the laws they have now or are too busy bothering themselves with nonsense to be able to.

BS

And you get around by what?; horse drawn carriage?

Robn,

Very Simple answer. Two legs with feet (attached).
I haven't had a car since 1999.

You can't throw water on my argument that easy!

BS,

No BuS?

Robn,

When I see my psychiatrist quarterly, I might take the bus. Otherwise I bike or, maybe, depending on the weather, or my mood, I might get a ride from a friend.

In my 25 years in New Haven, I can count the number of times I have ridden the bus on my fingers and toes. It is a recent phenomena for me, riding the bus -- my psychiatrist used to be closer, so I didn't need to take the bus at all (but that's a different story).

My point was that walking is my primary form of transportation.
(and, wow, between tickets, towing, and taxes, I don't miss it!)

Nitpick it if you'd like. I thought riding the bus was a responsible option. Financially, it makes sense to me. Believe me, it ain't about the environment.

Understand -- other peoples daily experiences are different than your own. Maybe that is offensive to you, and you think they should be more like you.

Personally, I have become much more tolerant of humans as I have grown older, and much less tolerant of the systems that control them.

While we are here, it's about little more than figuring out how to enjoy the company around us. In many circumstances, that is not within our control.

The fact is, there is still plenty of room for everybody.
(except, possibly, some of the people in charge of the room)

ps. If I go to East Rock Park, I take the Giant's Staircase.