Newport Council Votes in Favor of Beach Smoking Ban

Taking a horse onto a city-owned beach in the middle of the summer might not be a good idea. And going forward, you should leave your Camels behind, too.

If you light up a cigarette, cigar or pipe on a Newport-owned beach or in a city park this summer, don’t be surprised if you get a firm talking-to.

That’s because the Newport City Council on Wednesday outlawed smoking in those spaces after a 6-1 vote to approve the first reading of an ordinance revision.

The council voted to approve an amendment to the city’s Code of Ordinances governing parks and recreation areas, inserting text that explains the scourge of cigarette butts on public health as well as the health of the ecosystem.

The council also approved an amendment to include the Cliff Walk in the smoking ban after members of the Cliff Walk Commission told city officials that they believed in the spirit of the measure.

The council passed the measure with the understanding that it will be difficult to enforce. The language of the amendment does not mention any penalties.

But supporters of the smoking ban argued that peer pressure goes a long way towards keeping butts off the beach. Now, people who don’t want to be subjected to secondhand smoke can remind smokers that not only is the habit unpleasant and downright deadly for other visitors — it’s against the law.

The resolution faced some opposition from both the Open Space and Newport Beach Commissions. They argued a point that many feel rings true: enforcement will be difficult, posting no smoking signs will clutter up parks and beaches and it raises certain issues of liberty and personal freedom since they are publicly-owned places when it comes down to it.

That’s something that Councilor Kate Leonard, who voted for the proposal, said gave her some pause.

“It really isn’t very enforceable,” she said. But, she said, there are so many cigarette butts all over the beach and she wanted to take a stand against what has been said is the top pollutant found during ocean cleanups.

“They really are everywhere,” Leonard said. “It’s a big problem.”

She said she doesn’t expect to see people caught smoking on the beach being led away in handcuffs, nor does she expect every smoker to heed the ordinance. What she hopes doesn’t happen, she said, is a fight breaking out or some kind of incident when “peer pressure” turns into a case of smoking-related beach rage.

Councilor John Florez, in a Facebook message, said that more than 230 cities have banned smoking on its beaches.

“Being the most prominent Seaside City in the Ocean state I was happy that the Council was able to pass this legislation,” he said.