Westerly Beaches have BANNED SMOKERS!

Readers might like to know that Misquamicut State Beach, in Westerly, R.I., is now a ';smoker unfriendly'; facility (as of summer %26#39;07), relegating smokers to the parking lot beyond the dunes. (And thus abridging their right to even a view of the shoreline!)

I am not sure if such an edict has also been instituted at the Burlingame Campgrounds, so if you plan to camp, you might call ahead to inquire.

The Westerly Town Beach (which is open to the ';public';) became ';smoke-free'; this year (in %26#39;08). Again, banishing those who have paid for entry, to the viewless sahara of the parking lot.

I am a ';boomer,'; and my family has been vacationing in Westerly since I was a toddler. But I am also one of the more than 1 in 5 adult Americans who still chooses to use LEGAL tobacco products. Non-smokers should know that, despite the pervasive pharmaceutical-funded propaganda against second-hand smoke, OUTDOOR smoking bans are NEVER justifiable for ';health'; reasons. They are purely a matter of one group%26#39;s personal preferences usurping the ';equal access'; rights of another group.

Aren%26#39;t state and town parks financed BY all citizens, and ostensibly maintained, FOR all citizens? Such a policy seems particularly hypocritical at Westerly%26#39;s town beaches, where the enjoyment of ';concealed'; alcoholic beverages is allowed! (So if booze is your vice, you are ';A-OK'; in the eyes of the town council; whose members instituted the smoking ban last November, by a vote of 4-3.)

Vacationers who smoke should be warned of these outdoor bans, as they may well prefer to spend their vacation dollars at a locale that respects the rights of every American - not just the ';politically correct.';

Member: www.smokersclubinternational.com

Westerly Beaches have BANNED SMOKERS!

Unless something has changed recently, the Misquamicut Beach smoking ban is VOLUNTARY....since cigarette butts are the number one source of litter on the beaches, they are at least trying to ask the public%26#39;s help on this.

This is not a second hand smoke issue, it%26#39;s the butts that careless smokers leave as litter on the beaches that contribute to other health hazards for humans as well as animals. Perhaps you carry your butts out with you, but far too many of your fellow smokers don%26#39;t.

It%26#39;s pretty disturbing to see a small child use a cigarette butt as a flagpole for their sand castle, and then go and eat lunch with their fingers....

Westerly Beaches have BANNED SMOKERS!

';Trash'; is a typical complaint on beaches.

And I am a smoker who is always sure to dispose of such refuse.

However, I have seen piles of coke cans, plastic cups and carryout trays littering this particular beach at the end of the day (as well as dirty diapers improperly disposed! Talk about a ';health hazard!';). So? Should we therefore ban all picnics and babies from the beaches as well?

Sorry, but trash is a lame excuse for exorcising smokers from a public park.

At a fresh water beach near me, smokers are requested to use sand filled ';butt buckets'; which are made available for their use. In some parts of Florida, walk-away foil lined pouches are supplied. Some solution similar to these might have been a ';friendlier'; option than enforced segregation.

Oh and BTW, how ';safe'; do you suppose the beach will be for children, when lifeguards are enlisted to chase smokers from the beach, instead of patrolling the shoreline?

Yes, last year the ';no smoking'; ban was Voluntary - this year it is ENFORCED!

Moreover, another smoker who was also exiled to the parking lot told me that a friend of hers was recently chased from a downtown Westerly park for the same ';offense.';

At the DEM beaches, it is still Voluntary.

Westerly passed their ban on their beaches, parks and recreation facilities late last year.

DEM Beaches? Please define.

Re: ';Late last year'; ... exactly what I proferred in my original post - the Westerly Town Council passed the ban in November.

Making Westerly INHOSPITABLE to smokers!

With the glaring loss of business Misquamicut night life has suffered since the Casinos were built (it%26#39;s practically non-existent), you%26#39;d think the Council would have more sense than to compromise their daytime tourist trade as well!

DEM Beaches = All State Beaches (NOT Town Beaches) including Misquamicut State Beach

Funny, my pro-choice smokers%26#39; website (www.smokersclubinc.com) had reported last year that Misquamicut was ';smoke free'; at the time - and that the town beach had a Voluntary ban.

Can you direct me to definitive information in that regard? Because I have searched for it, to no avail. Thanks.

I called DEM directly...401.222.2632.

Here%26#39;s a link on their website that cleverly makes you THINK it%26#39;s mandatory, but in reality, it%26#39;s cleverly worded to ';ask for your participation';.

http://www.riparks.com/NoSmoking.htm

The State Legislature never passed a tougher law, so it applies to State run beaches...individual towns, like Westerly can make their own laws regarding their town beaches and parks.

Thanks for that enlightening post!

Apparently the ';anti-tobacco'; lobby couldn%26#39;t Get an OUTDOOR ban passed through the R.I. State Legislature (and rightfully so), so they have shown the purists how to circumvent that ';minor detail'; by means of posting the international symbol for ';no smoking'; on their State Parks%26#39; website; thereby intimidating smokers into THINKING there is a law! (The word ';voluntary'; is conspicuously absent from that page.)

Some may call it ';clever'; - others might more correctly refer to it as innuendo, deception, or downright bullying!

YAEHHHHH!!! I hate the smell of smoke at the beach. I can%26#39;t stand laying in the sand and finding nasty cig. butts all over.