The next time you head to New York City, forget about lighting up in many outdoor public places.
Smokers are being forced to butt out their cigarettes at parks, beaches, public plazas and boardwalks.
The city's health department says the law will protect people from dangerous secondhand smoke. Critics of the law say the city is trampling on civil liberties.
This certainly isn't the first time we've seen regulations put in place to curb smoking in public places. In 2002, New York City banned smoking in restaurants, bars and other public indoor spaces. The state enacted the ban the following year.
The difference with this new law is the fact that it regulates what people do outdoors. Should that make a difference? Locally, lawmakers in Ithaca don't think so.
They enacted a smoking ban last August, preventing people from lighting up in parts of the Commons, several parks, outdoor dining tables and some playgrounds.
Here were some of your reactions when it happened there:
leapfrog9999 said, "When are they going to stop with the no smoking everywhere, we as smokers should have just as much rights as non smokers. We pay taxes like everyone else."
katyshu wrote, "People who smoke do not realize how far the odor of the smoke goes, nor how bad it smells to others who do not smoke. Smoke can be smelled in cars as they go past, butts lying all over the ground."
And then there's the question of whether smoking should be banned in cars. Two Long Island lawmakers think if there are children in the car, it should be illegal.
Here were some of your reactions to that idea:
rick70 told us, "It is time to tell the government to stop already. We were a free nation at one time and now we're forced to do everything that others want us to do. ENOUGH ALREADY!!"
sgriswold11 said, "I CAN NOT believe the UTTER STUPIDITY from some of you people. It's 2011, are you really still that stupid? If you want to kill yourself, be my guest, but you're seriously arguing about smoking with CHILDREN in the car?! Just incase you've been living under a rock, second hand smoke kills."
Now, you can forget about lighting up at my public places in New York City. Anyone caught violating the law could face a $50 bine. City leaders say they will rely on signs and social pressure instead of active enforcement.
Many of you have been sharing your thoughts about the new ban on the CNY Central Facebook page.
Luana Newton told us, "I think it's rediculous to ban smoking from all public places! I can understand playground areas, where innocent children are, but anything else is silly. It's a bunch of pollution in the air anyway, and the state obviously needs the smokers' tax money, but will tell them they can't smoke anywhere... Huh???"
Michelle Osborne says, "Yeah, damn us non-smokers for not wanting to breathe that crap in. Gosh how SILLY of us to be anti-smoking and wanting to step outside for a breath of FRESH air, not smoke-filled air. Why silly us."
Do you think the NYC ban on smoking in outdoor places goes too far or is it a step in the right direction? Is this case of government getting too involved in your life by trying to regulate what you do in public? Or is the government doing the public a favor by protecting people from unwanted secondhand smoke? Do you think the city will have trouble enforcing the law? Do you think smoking will eventually be illegal? Leave your thoughts below.
