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Canwest News Service
Vancouver parks officials will look at ways to get butts off our beaches.
The Vancouver park board is set to discuss the issue of banning cigarette smoking on Vancouver beaches and in parks at a meeting Feb. 1.
Staff will then prepare a report with a recommendation on which way to proceed.
"During the summer period there was the forest fire at Stanley Park and there was some concern," said park board commissioner Raj Hundal. "I approached staff to look into the matter and that led to a staff briefing sometime in November to look into the issue."
Hundal said a public survey accompanied the briefing and an overwhelming majority (about 85 to 90 per cent) said they were in favour of some kind of regulation of smoking on beaches.
There are several options on the table, including partial bans with smoke- free zones, said Hundal, a non-smoker.
Another option is to have a trial period.
"Anything is possible at this moment. I personally have not made a decision one way or the other," he said. "I am a non-smoker and would rather be in an environment where people don't smoke."
Advocates of a ban also argue that all the cigarette butts left on the beach cause environmental damage. Machines used to clean the beaches don't pick up the butts.
"People have to pick those up by hand," Hundal said. "And they wash up on our shores."
The move toward prohibiting people from having a puff on the beach isn't new. White Rock, West Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver have implemented smoking restrictions.
Those against the move say a law preventing someone from lighting up outdoors is "too heavy-handed," said Hundal.
MyChoice.ca, a Quebec-based association which advocates for smokers to have a say in the debate, is concerned that liberties are be taken away. On its website, the organization claims such political decisions are biased because governments legalize and heavily tax tobacco and then punish customers by "not giving them any real say in how they are treated as citizens."
Hundal said no decision has been made. "We want to listen to everyone," he said.
ticrawford@vancouversun.com
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This is incredible, a ban in parks and beaches. Who does this government think they are?!?! This is socialism and people need to realize this! Which is why I have switched to Crown7 Electric cigarettes that beat the bans. This product only emits water vapor and contains no tobacco.
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