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Posted: April 1, 2008

Raleigh Backs Off Proposed Smoking Ban in Parks

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Raleigh Looks to Put 'No Smoking' Signs in Parks

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Raleigh Looks to Put 'No Smoking' Signs in Parks

Raleigh, N.C. — The City Council on Tuesday took a less restrictive stance on smoking in public parks than a proposed ban.

In mid-March, the Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board recommended that council members impose a ban to cut down on secondhand smoke and litter.

A parent's complaint about cigarette butts near the playground at Pullen Park prompted a city study that culminated in the advisory board's resolution.

Instead, the council voted to allow park managers who notice a problem with smoking and cigarette butts to request help from the city. The help would come in the form of trash receptacles for cigarette butts and signs urging people not to smoke.

Council members said they might ask state legislators next year to change the law and allow them to enact a ban.

North Carolina law requires that the General Assembly grant approval for any smoking ban before a municipality can impose one.

RELATED TOPICS: Raleigh, West Raleigh

Copyright 2011 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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78 Comments


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Latest Comments
Just ban it in bars and restaurants please!
joe41080
April 3, 2008 8:11 p.m.
HopSkipJump

I have been to Walnut Creek, what kind of smoke you talking about?

BTW Camel cigarette filters are bio-degrable, so thump them where ya want!
nowon_yuno
April 2, 2008 7:21 a.m.
Smoker here. An option to consider is one similar to that at Walnut Creek. They have instituted a smoke free zone on the lawn. Sure, when the wind is blowing that way, I am sure they do get a wiff of the smoke, but overall, it is a fairly smoke free outdoor environment. At parks with playgrounds a no smoking zone could be set up around the playgrounds and a percentage of picnic shelters.

And to reitertate, dropping filters on the ground is littering. Smokers, pick up your filters!

lol, they would not let me use the other word.
HopSkipJump
April 1, 2008 7:14 p.m.
Not sure if you caught this, but the Washington Post just broke the news that the Surgeon General thinks banning smoking will cause more harm than good! Wonder who's in his pocket??? He apparently cites a newly released five-year study by the Department of Health & Human Services, stating that the smoking ban in New York and other major U.S. cities has lowered the overall life expectancy for residents of those cities. Due to improved appetites and maladies associated with prolonged outdoor exposure, particularly in winter in the Northeast, the Centers for Disease Control report sharp increases in both obesity and pneumonia-related deaths. What a crock!
homerunner20000
April 1, 2008 5:44 p.m.
Admiral, thats one way to get them away from tobacco. Buy them a 45 ring harsh tasting american grown cigar. Thankfully kids don't know how to smoke them properly ROFL!! I'll join you on the deck with my 40 ring Dominican torpedo and enjoy the sunset.

I said this on the earlier thread when they were first talking about the possible ban. I don't do filters. People like me (the minority group) will field strip the tobacco remaining and ball up the paper remaining to toss in the trash or my pocket. The tobacco can fall to the ground and being I have no filters there is no trash to complain about. Only reason I went this way was costs. I am not paying 40/carton when I can buy a can of rolling tobacco for about 16. One third the cost after taxes.
Travised
April 1, 2008 5:38 p.m.
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