Public smoking ban in NYC

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMay 23 2011

Smoking has been banned from many parts of the U.S. over the last decade. New York City is now taking the war against tobacco a step further with a new law that goes into effect today, banning smoking outdoors - at beaches, boardwalks, parks, and pedestrian plazas.

The ban - which impacts 1,700 parks and 14 miles of city beaches and pedestrian plazas like those around Times Square - was passed by the City Council in February despite some lawmakers' concerns that it violated individual liberties. New York outlawed smoking in restaurants in 1995, a rule that other cities have since adopted.

The ban is as expected, universally popular. Thirty-five states across the country have laws banning smoking indoors. But to date, less than 3 percent of cities across the country have outdoor smoking bans.

New York City health officials hope that this would discourage a new generation from picking up the habit, sending the message that it is no longer acceptable to light up in family friendly places.

Public policy professor Dan Feldman says New York City's ban may be counterproductive. He said, “I'm afraid it could hurt the credibility of more limited, more reasonable restrictions on smoking.”

“This will protect New Yorkers from second-hand smoke and keep our parks and beaches clean,” said Susan Kansagra, the assistant commissioner for the Health Department's bureau of tobacco control. She said the idea is to “de-normalize” smoking in family-friendly places so the dangerous addiction isn't something children think is acceptable, she said.

Although smoking scofflaws could get slapped with a $50 fine, the law is mostly self-regulatory since there are few Parks Department officers to enforce the rule. In addition there will be a TV and print ad campaign this month to remind New Yorkers not to light up at the shore's sandy beaches or grassy patches in parks.

“It definitely pushes the boundaries of what public health law can do,” said James Colgrove, a Columbia University public health professor and author of “NYC: Epidemic City.” While it's clear that smoking indoors is a health hazard to others, outdoors the danger is hazy, he said. “Outdoors, the air-monitoring studies suggest smoke dissipates and there is virtually no health risk to anyone who is more than a few feet away,” he said. “It's using public health law for something that public health law is not always used for and that many people would not approve of.”