Why?

Cigarettes contain toxic chemicals, can pollute both land and water and can be ingested by animals and small children. It is estimated that worldwide, 1.69 billion pounds of cigarette butts are littered each year.

Secondhand smoke exposure is still a risk when outdoors. It has been reported that levels of secondhand smoke outside can be equal to that levels of secondhand smoke inside homes.  Secondhand smoke kills many infants and adults each year.

When discarded, cigarettes are designed to continue to burn for several minutes when dropped, creating a major fire hazard, threatening outdoor park and recreation areas as well as boardwalks, piers, and the surrounding nature.

Prohibiting smoking in outdoor places such as parks, playgrounds, and beaches shields young children from seeing smoking as a common adult behavior to be emulated or copied, even if some may observe smoking by their parents and other adults in private homes.

Restrictions on smoking can be a major deciding factor for smokers that are considering quitting, resulting in lower healthcare costs, disability and death.