Portsmouth to Consider Smoking Ban on Town Beaches, Parks and Sports Fields

Portsmouth could soon enact a ban on smoking on all town beaches, sports fields and in parks, following an example set by Newport and Middletown earlier this year.

The Portsmouth Town Council had been asked to consider enacting a ban on two occasions — in February by a resident and in April by Clean Ocean Access — so the agenda item for the council’s Aug. 24 meeting will be listed under “old business.”

Town Councilman David M. Gleason asked for the item to be placed on the agenda. In a memo, he said the request “is to move forward with a smoking ban immediately while an ordinance is drafted and approved.”

The ordinance might resemble the one drafted in Newport, which passed 6-1 after a debate about whether the ban is all that enforceable.

Supporters argued that peer pressure goes a long way toward keeping butts off the beach. 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.

In the end, the ban was enacted due to the overwhelming evidence that smoking is a scourge on public health, Also, cigarette butts are the single most-often collected piece of litter by Clean Ocean Access along Aquidneck Island’s shores during their numerous beach cleanups throughout the year.

Along with the ban on public beaches and in parks in Newport, the Cliff Walk Commission endorsed the plan and had the walk included in the smoking ban.