NY village bans smoking on public sidewalks

[The Straight Story]

GREAT NECK, N.Y. — A village on Long Island's "gold coast" is banning smoking on public sidewalks.

The Great Neck village board approved the ban at a meeting Tuesday night. It claims to be the first municipality in the state to enact such a restriction.

Mayor Ralph J. Kreitzman says the ban was enacted after officials got complaints about smokers standing outside stores in the village. He says the law will also benefit pedestrians who might have been subjected to second hand smoke.

Kreitzman says violators found smoking on sidewalks in the 1.4-square-mile village could face fines of up to $1,000.

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP1abd0f715f7e42859f3b892adeb78fdf.html

[Cutatious]

1. I assume you can still smoke in the street with all the CO belching vehicles

But I guess that could be banned too.

[Tunkamerica]

2. ridiculous.

make everyone walk in the village and they can only power their bodies by food produced with no carbon emissions. The soil can have no radiation, no x-rays,CAT scans, or MRIS will be performed in the village. Anyone with a family history of cancer CANNOT have sexual relations in the village. Cellphones are banned as are all plastics, vinyls, and other possibly carcinogenic materials. Processed meats, farmed fish, and unprocessed meats and fish are hereby banned. All village residents must exercise 1 hour a day. No exceptions will be made.


The village must protect the genetically pure from any chance of an environmentally caused cancer.

[SpartanDem]

3. I've supported smoking bar/restaurant smoking bans

but this type of crap goes way too far

[Odin2005]

4. I agree.

If it's outside then who cares?

[Broderick]

6. Creeping

Festering incremental piety. Sometimes this nanny state stuff starts with innocuous laws that the majority can agree to, but it just opens doors to further erosion of freedom. Sadly, we see this everywhere. Step by step encroachment on freedoms. Transfats, happy meals, smoking in bars, etc. The key is to push back on these things even if it won't affect us, or even if it is in peoples' best interest. Give an inch and we start down the slippery slopes to having the government restrictions on more things designed to "protect" us from ourselves. Given that smokers are a minority in this country it is easy to pass these laws now with relative impunity. The majority may cheer these decisions today, but eventually things will affect those folks too as each lawmaker's personal pet peeves become unlawful. They should be focusing on removing laws that restrict freedom of choice. Just my opinion.

[bluedave]

5. heaven forbid

a smoker should enjoy his habit

[madinmaryland]

7. I hate having to walk through a "wall of smoke" to get to a job site or

an office I am visiting. Second hand smoke kills.

[The Straight Story]

8. I am sure people in NYC/LA/Etc feel the same about a wall of car exhaust

As I have said many times before, I will go in my garage and chain smoke for 2 hours, then someone else can go in and sit there while their car runs for 2 hours - I am guessing they will be sicker from the car than me from the smoking.

[WestSeattle2]

15. You're absolutely right. Carbon monoxide will not only make

you ill, it kills:

http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/15/carbon_monoxide_cigarettes

[Kalyke]

9. But not as much as all the pollution you have to walk

through to get to a job site.

The World Health Organization acknowledges that the number of people who smoke is lessening, while the number of people contracting lung cancer is increasing; ergo, something else is going on... or else only smokers and those they kidnap to blow smoke in their faces would fall out of the sky, dead.

[pintobean]

11. The next time your on a job site

read as many MSDSs as possible. Not to mention, dust, exhaust fumes, radon and physical hazards.

[sylveste]

12. not reliably

unfortunately.

[REP]

16. Or quickly enough.

[SidDithers]

10. Good...nt

Sid

[The Straight Story]

13. good? Why? (nt)

[Rage for Order]

14. This part of the story makes me wonder:

"Mayor Ralph J. Kreitzman says the ban was enacted after officials got complaints about smokers standing outside stores in the village."

I wonder if smokers were standing outside stores as a result of previous legislation by the village board that banned smoking indoors?

:shrug: