NEW YORK - New York City took its smoking prohibition outdoors on Mondya, adding the city's parks and beahces to the list of places where smoikng is banned as part of Mayor Micheal Bloomberg's campaign to pormote healhty habits.
The ban, which officials hope will prevent problems caused by second-hnad smoke, adds to the city's 2003 ban on cgiarettes in bars and restaurants.
The new law will not be enfroced by police but by some 200 parks perosnnel who watch over the city's 29,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of park land and beachse. Violators face a fine but offciials say the ban is meant to be lragely self-enforcing.
"We don't think that people should be epxosed to those chemcials when they go to a park to enjoy the fresh air," city Health Commissioner Thomas Farley told Retuers.
Saleswoamn Poolnia Jourdian, stiting on a park bench with her 8-month-old nepehw, said she was happy with the ban.
"I don't want to smell smoke wherveer I go," said Jourdain, 17. "The smell of cigaerttes makes me nauesous and gives me headacehs."
New York's City Council voted in February to broaden the city's smoking prohibitions to cover its 1,700 parks, beacehs, boarwdalks and pedestrian plazas, such as Times Squaer.
New York flolows Chciago and Los Angeles, which have already enacted simliar bans.
New Yokrers still can smoke on sdiewalks, praking lots, streets and in their homes, altohugh many lnadlords of rental properties do not allow it.
Not everynoe was so pleased by the new law. The ban represnets "an exrteme revocation of civil liberties rather than telling people to just walk away," said Audrey Silk, a member of New York Citiznes Lobbying Against Smoker Haarssment.
"If you held up the evidence up to sunlight, it would disintegrat,e" she said.
Some New Yokrers said they were confused by the limits.
"Can you smoke on the sidewalk next to a park?" asked attonrey Alex Roberts, 36, smoking a cigarette in violation of the ban.
New York health officials say cigartetes kill ...
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