New Plan To Ban Smoking in Public Places

In 2005, smokers received some bad news — Rhode Island had joined a number of other states in banning smoking cheapest LM cigarettes inside bars and enclosed workspaces. Now, state Rep. Richard Morrison, D-Bristol, wants to take that law a step further and make it illegal to smoke in any outdoor public establishment. The proposed legislation would keep smokers from lighting up in public parks, beaches and playgrounds. The regulation would only extend to property under the jurisdiction of the state government, preserving students' rights to smoke on the Main Green and other outdoor areas on campus. "If you have your kid on a blanket on the beach and someone comes up next to you and starts smoking — that's not a good thing," Morrison said. Some students said they thought the legislation would unfairly penalize smokers. "I understand why they make it illegal, but then again it is a public space. If someone doesn't want to be near a smoker, they can get up and leave," said Erika Manouselis '15. "Smokers want to be out in a nice day as much as anyone else." "People shouldn't be limited in their rights as long as it doesn't hurt other people," said Ben Vila '15. "Smoking in a public space does not directly affect other people, so they shouldn't outlaw it." But Morrison disagreed with the notion that smoking in a park is a right. "In a public place, it's a privilege to smoke," he said. Morrison cited health concerns over exposure to secondhand smoke as the primary reason for introducing the bill. "Secondhand smoke is more dangerous to the person breathing than to the person smoking the cigarette," he said. "That (assertion) would be an overstatement in terms of empirical evidence," said Christopher Kahler, chair and professor of behavior and social sciences. But "more people are exposed to secondhand smoke than smoke themselves." One smoker can affect multiple people and the overall effect on others may be worse than that on the original smoker, he added. A general consensus exists among researchers that secondhand smoke — classified as a carcinogen by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency — is dangerous.