September 15, 2009 in Opinion

Park Board was right to rescind smoking ban

The Spokane Park Board has reversed its springtime decision to phase in an outright ban on smoking in parks. The practical effect of this unanimous vote is negligible. There was no great effort to enforce it, anyway. The police and parks staff – both stretched thin – have better things to do.

In hitting the reset button, the board has returned to the old regulations. Parks will have designated Tobacco Free Zones in and around areas where children congregate, with signage and peer pressure as the enforcement mechanisms. Enforcement by peers might be more apt to happen now that it is clear that public authorities won’t be showing up.

Some may scoff at the notion of peer pressure being effective, but societal attitudes have shifted significantly over the years. House guests don’t think twice about heading outside for a cigarette. Most wouldn’t dream of lighting up inside without asking. Workers who smoke know the drill: Head for that out-of-the way space designated by their employers. Restaurant and bar patrons have been similarly conditioned by peers and changes in the law.

Complaints about cigarette littering in parks are legitimate, but there are laws that address that.

No community has ever really solved the issue of enforcement. Last week, the city of Wenatchee extended a discussion on smoking restrictions in parks. The police department worries that once it is saddled with enforcement, it would have to field complaints when it has more important things to do. Puyallup has a ban that comes with a $1,000 fine. As of July, nobody had paid it. Does that mean nobody ever smokes in Puyallup parks? Of course not. Tacoma is also wrestling with the issue.

As long as there are larger criminal issues than the nuisance of cigarette smoke at parks, outright bans will not be effectively enforced. And laws that lack any genuine enforcement threat breed disrespect for the law in general. The Park Board has made a reasonable decision in reversing its ban.

The more realistic and honest solution involves public education campaigns, gentle persuasion, stern glares and clear signs. Given time, those combined forces will greatly diminish the problem.

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Five comments on this story so far. Add yours!

Gary D Rhodes on September 15 at 10:49 a.m.
I think a “Joe Friday” head-shake would also work, that goes for people that spit on sidewalks too.
marbee on September 15 at 7:38 p.m.
Big pharma has spent billions demonizing the pleasure of smoking using social engineering, and profits from bans that destroys private businesses and pits one population against another. Follow the money! I read an article about a boy that OD’d on Nicorette gum given at school without parental knowledge. So, in a legal drug pushing scheme, pharmaceutical nicotine is pushed on 12 year old kids trumping parental autonomy. If anyone doubted that the anti-smoking, anti-overweight crusade leads back to Johnson & Johnson, open your eyes people!
MichaelJMcFadden on September 15 at 8:31 p.m.
Spokesman, when you said, “And laws that lack any genuine enforcement threat breed disrespect for the law in general.” you virtually echoed what I wrote in the closing section of Brains five years ago. Here’s what I wrote:

“Disrespect for the law in a democracy is dangerous tinder to intentionally gather, but every no-smoking sign in an outdoor or well-ventilated indoor area does just that. On a still wider level, some writers such as Don Oakley believe that the formal changing of the rules of law so that they simply apply to one specific target may have done irreparable damage to our entire legal system.”
As you can see, I fully agree with you!
Michael J. McFadden
Author of “Dissecting Antismokers’ Brains”
harleyrider1978 on September 16 at 6:55 a.m.
At last maybe some commonsence……..or is it that certain people in government are seeing the political climate against these bans comming and want to be on the right side of this issue before the winds of change blow them away……..Its comming repeal and freedom is comming with a blast in the next election cycle……..2010 is get even day and with 30% of the nation as smokers and add in another big percentage that think the bans are communist its gonna be a sad day for the progressives and RINOS who are behind these bans……..SECOND HAND SMOKE IS A JOKE……..
As for secondhand smoke in the air, OSHA has stated outright that:
“Field studies of environmental tobacco smoke indicate that under normal conditions, the components in tobacco smoke are diluted below existing Permissible Exposure Levels (PELS.) as referenced in the Air Contaminant Standard (29 CFR 1910.1000)…It would be very rare to find a workplace with so much smoking that any individual PEL would be exceeded.”
-Letter From Greg Watchman, Acting Sec’y, OSHA, To Leroy J Pletten, PHD, July 8, 1997
Rifleman_Dodd on September 16 at 7:03 a.m.
How about all you smokers, just dont exhale? EVER. IF that crap is so good, just keep it in.