Banning butts

When I saw the headline for this Sun-Sentinel story, the first thing that popped into my head were people in thong bikinis.

Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday joined a growing number of cities fed up with cigarette smokers who use beaches as ashtrays.

City commissioners said they intend to make it a municipal violation to flick a cigarette butt, especially on the beach. They'll vote soon to define butts as "solid waste," making them subject to litter laws.

The city attorney is researching whether Fort Lauderdale can ban smoking on the beach outright.

Nationally, dozens of coastal cities no longer allow beach visitors to light up.

Florida voters in 2002 banned smoking in most indoor public places. Outdoors, though, the power to restrict or ban smoking rests with the state, according to a state attorney general's opinion. Despite that, some cities in South Florida and other parts of the state have forged ahead with outdoor smoking restrictions, in many cases targeting smokers who leave extinguished butts on the beach or in parks.

In Broward County, Margate, Cooper City, Pembroke Pines, Pompano Beach and Weston have laws or have considered laws restricting outdoor smoking.

"I think it's a filthy, disgusting habit," said Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Cindi Hutchinson.

I totally agree with Commissioner Hutchinson's statement that smoking is a disgusting habit. But

1- If a beach smoking ban is put into effect, who will enforce it and wouldn't those resources be better used somewhere else? Like fighting crime.

2- Would a ban on smoking at the beach tourism negatively?

It is easy to say smoking should be banned on the beach. What the effect of such a ban would be, is what the people of Fort Lauderdale should be asking.

Linked to- Adam, Amboy Times, The World According to Carl,