Should people be allowed to smoke on a public beach?

Yes, 100%.

But lifeguards should be able to fine the bollocks off those horrible skanks that throw their butts on the beach.

originally posted by: SlowNail
Yes, 100%.

But lifeguards should be able to fine the bollocks off those horrible skanks that throw their butts on the beach.

Lifeguards have already said they do not want to be involved.

a reply to: sligtlyskeptical

I sure hope you don't wear perfume or smelly sunscreen. Both give me tremendous migraines. If i was at the beach and someone smelly like that came and sat next to me, I would simply move. If i don't like what someone is doing I remove myself from their proximity, I don't ask them to change their behavior. I think cigarettes butt on the beach are minor compared to other litter. For all you know those butts could have washed up on the beach as well.

The problem with some of the beaches is that they are REALLY crowded. Sometimes there isn't a new place to just move.
Sometimes smokers (not all) are completely disrespectful and just blow their smoke everywhere including in children's faces. There is a reason a lot of beaches don't allow dogs, people just refused to pick up the poop. You can put bags out there, you can put cans, people will still just let them go wherever.

Personal opinion: I love the idea. I am allergic to smoke and have bad asthma. While I try to remove myself from situations or politely ask people to be considerate - it does not always work. Cigarette butts are disgusting and a huge environmental threat.

Looking at the big picture: It is open air and how many freedoms do we want to restrict?

a reply to: JAGStorm

Yes people should be allowed to smoke anywhere. But they should also be respectful of others and the environment. That's why they should excuse themselves and smoke elsewhere, dispose of their butts properly, not by any mandate of law, but of personal choice and manners.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Should people be allowed to smoke on a public beach?

Well if they are on fire i suppose you can't stop them. Unless you throw a bucket of water over them.

We have banned smoking on our beaches for years.

We still have French fries.

However, now they have taken our straws and plastic bags.

Right. Stop the smokers on the beach and soon they will take away the beaches.
And after taking away the beach, they will come and take away the freedom to be a stupid moron. Smokers are stupid addicted morons with almost now will power at all. It's always amusing and sad at the same time when I hear smokers defending their rights. "I choose to smoke'', I want to smoke. Talk about denial. ''It's my right'', ''It's my freedom''. ''It's my body''. What a crock from addicted fools.

Everybody in this country now knows how harmful smoking is to their health. It was a questionable habit in the 1930s but the industry still promoted it as cool. In the 40s they basically gave away cigarettes free to soldiers just to get them addicted.

So I say soon they will be coming for all the stupid morons and going after smokers is just the first step.

a reply to: Propagandalf

Yes, this is true. ''People should''. But people don't, so what then? Smokers ''should'' be more respectful of non-smokers. How true. But the thing is is that they are not even respectful enough of themselves to protect themselves from their addiction. To seek help.

At this point is no longer just an addiction problem, it is a lack of will problem. Anyone who continues to smoke just does not want to quit so asking them to think about others is rather more than many of them can rise to.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I was going to say something similar. Many smokers are very rude, even blowing into the faces of kids. I've seen it.
They don't care.

a reply to: JAGStorm

The pollution aspect of smoking is a big problem, I'm a smoker and there's ways to take personal responsibility.

Which is exactly what I'd say to law makers. I guess it's all good when lobby money comes in etc but they've/we've knew about this problem for years. There's no good reason why biodegradable cigarette butts shouldn't have been made law many many years ago.

Do you not rake the beaches in the US? They won't get all the litter but they do a good job, litter will always be a problem on beaches.

a reply to: JAGStorm

It looks like they're fishing for people to have community service and clean up the beach...maximum fine of $25 or TEN hours of community service?

Looking at those two possible maxes, it seems like the state only values someone's time at $2.50/hr--isn't that below the minimum wage? (I kid...I kid...)

I disagree with the law, even though I have kids and I suffer from asthma. Now, I'm all for LEOs stepping up and citing people who litter cigarette butts on the beach, because butts are a massive part of common litter, the still-burning cigarettes can injure people or property, and the filters are probably not the best thing for the oceans.

I subscribe to the notion that people should be able to do what they want unless it harms someone else directly, and littering of the butts can do that--but if the butts are discarded appropriately, I don't see why people can't enjoy their tobacco on the beach. It is, after all, a legal substance.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I was a smoker. Two packer menthol for twenty years and quit thirty years ago.
I had an aunt who who smoked and whose doctor told her she did not have enough oxygen due to her heavy smoking. So she went out and got an oxygen machine and started breathing with that help. She would use it for five minutes and then take off the hose and smoke a cigerette, finish that and go back to the machine until her next cigerette five or ten minutes later. She kept saying, I have this under control now, puff puff, inhale inhale. It's my choice, cough cough.

No butts no dogs. Recently watched someone park in front of the sign that say no dogs no beach. Let his dog out it peeded on the sign and took a dump about 10 feet away. Off they went. An older woman took a bag out of her pocked picked it up and smeared on the drivers side door and handle to a great round of applause. We left before the guy came back.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I normally love your posts Terry, I understand this one but I can't necessarily support your views.

I can speak of my personal responsibility but it would be wasted breath so instead I'll ask how much you hate people within these other circumstances.

A 28 stone person who won't stop eating junk food?

A person addicted to self harm and mutilation of oneself?

A person addicted to partaking in extreme sports?

Drug users?

Legal drug users?

Alcoholics?

I can think of more if you like but they seem to be the more common issues where "will power" is involved. Humans do all sorts of destructive things, especially to ourselves. As long as it's to ourselves I don't see the reason for so much hate. I've lost family to a few of those things too including smoking.

I'm rather empathetic towards others, I disagree wholeheartedly that I'm incapable of thinking of others. I do and often I just don't assume I have the right to tell them what to do or judge their existence based on factors such as being fat or a smoker.

Something that I think may have been overlooked by some is that, at least during nice weather, many beach-goers are barefoot. I have personally stepped on a cigarette butt that hadn't been extinguished and I can tell you it really hurts. It makes sense to restrict certain items in certain areas under some circumstances.

I'm OK with banning cigs on public beaches, but it might be worth having an area set aside for those that insist on smoking/vaping away (downwind) from the main area with plenty of receptacles for extinguishing butts.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I was gonna say, some beaches are considered "parks", and I think some parks might be non-smoking, whether by law (meaning you could be punished in a court of law positively or through incarceration), or "rules" (meaning you would just be asked to put it out, and repeat violations you would be asked to leave, possibly even eventually legally trespassed from the premesis).

But it seems like this is just saying "any public beach".

I foresee roving gangs of cigarette smokers, having their beach fun on private property beaches, while the owner is away since a there are a lot of beachfront homes which are vacation homes and not constantly occupied, or by intimidating old ladies and single moms who own beachfront property so they can smoke while tanning, making sand castles, swimming, surfing, you name it.

It will be like Mad Max but like Waterworld (I think?) we will call them "The Smokers".

a reply to: JAGStorm

I'd like to live in a world where lots of things were not illegal but people would not do it anyway because they would be mindful and considerate of others.

a reply to: RAY1990

RIght you are Ray. Most of the time I do what I can within myself to cut everybody slack, to step back and sum up as much compassion as I can for whatever the persons challenges. I have my own challenges, some of which I have not mounted much of any manner of success at.

As you suggest, why draw a line. A line between others with challenges and smokers. And really, that IS one of our big questions huh? Why draw a line at all, in anything. Should we and if so when should we draw a line for our compassion. Our sympathy. I have no staunch answer there Ray. It may be that with all the attempts at understanding other people and their opinions and ideas and political blindness's and religious fallacies and such I find that I need to draw some kind of line as to who I can sympathies with and I guess that smokers are where I draw it. And maybe I shouldn't.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Smoke away just don't litter...I sometimes love the smell of a cigarette at the beach..not a smoker