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A smoking ban on state beaches and parks passed the California state Senate Thursday and could make the state the first in the nation to eliminate smoking at state parks and beaches to protect the marine environment and reduce fire danger statewide.
Introduced by Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, Senate Bill 4 would establish a $100 fine for smoking at parks or beaches. The bill is nearly identical to one she introduced in 2006.
Oropeza cited several additional reasons to support her bill: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined cigarette butts to be the most frequently found marine debris item in the United States. Smoking-related debris poses a persistent and serious threat to marine life; ingestion of cigarette waste by marine animals interferes with their ability to eat and digest food. Cigarette butts are not biodegradable and contain more than 165 chemicals, according to a press release from Oropeza’s office.
According to the Ocean Conservancy, in 2003 smoking-related items — cigarette filters, cigar tips, tobacco packaging and cigarette lighters — accounted for 38 percent of all debris found on beaches in the United States.
The California Department of Forestry has noted that over a 5-year average, smoking has annually caused more than 100 California forest fires. Smoking caused four of the 25 worst wildfires in California, from 1929-1999, including the 1999 Jones wildfire, which destroyed 964 structures, and the 1999 Oakland Hills fire, the largest dollar fire loss in United States history, according to Oropeza’s press release.
More than 100 local governments statewide have imposed smoking bans in local parks, beaches and piers including Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Newport Beach, San Clemente, Santa Monica, Seal Beach and Solana Beach.
Oropeza’s ban on smoking in cars with children, SB7, took effect on Jan. 1, 2008. That ban applies to any car with a youth younger than the age of 18, even if the car is parked and on private property. In January 2007, her measure banning smoking in common-use areas such as covered parking lots, adjacent stairwells, lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators and restrooms also took effect.
SB 4 now goes to the California state Assembly for review; no hearing date has been set.
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