Effective today – New Yorkers will be fined $50 dollars if they are caught smoking in public places including (Parks, Beaches, Plazas and Times Square) as CNN reports.
Smokers in New York City looking to light up in most public places will not be able to without paying a price after an outdoor citywide smoking ban takeseffect Monday.
The law, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed in February after it was passed by the New York City Council, will make smoking illegal in New York City’s 1,700 parks and on the city’s 14 miles of public beaches. Smoking will also be prohibited in pedestrian plazas like Times Square.
The ban is designed to help curb exposure to secondhand smoke as well as reduce litter.
Not all New Yorkers are embracing the ban. New York City C.L.A.S.H. (Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment), a grass-roots organization, is staging a “smoke in the park” to call for repeal or to simply demonstrate anger, according to the group’s website.
The ban will be enforced by the city’s parks department, and if violators are caught, they could be fined $50.
Thoughts… Reactions???
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its amazing that people will lobby against something as toxic and unproductive as smoking, rather than lobbying for causes that will HELP the public.
I guess some people are fresh out of good causes to throw their support behind.
By the way smokers.. how is your HEALTH CARE?!
abuse of power! most smokers are considerate enough not to smoke around people who don’t. this is just taking it too far and allowing government to dictate too many aspects of private life.
i agree with you.
allowing government to dictate too much about daily life is a slippery slope that we’re already too far down.
it’s a matter of principle – governmental abuse is when we give the government too much power to intrude in matters of personal consequence.
IOW we should be free to smoke if we want – no matter the personal penalty, as long it’s not illegal.
that said, i’m ambivalent cuz i hate second hand smoke and being forced to have to inhale it or be around it. so tough break, smokers – but we hate you niggas.
I’ve had my run/walk disturbed too many times to feel indifferent about this new law. I love it.
Go smoke and kill yourself BY YOURSELF!
If I am seen smoking in a park and am fined by the COPS I refuse to pay anything to anyone. The US government is bullshit. I won’t let those fags opress me. I have a right to smoke anything I please. If drinking pramethazine induced bottles of Spirt it is my business and mine alone. Not to get awaty from the main topic but all the same this is something that should be looked at as morally wrong. It shouldn’t be legal for someone to be able to force their beliefs onto them
New World Order IS HERE PEOPLE! We did all get leave behind from the rapture! Next they are going to tell us what to eat, where to sleep, how many toilet paper pieces i can use to wipe my ass. I mean TSA can already put their hands down you and your children’s pants. That’s why i walk around now with sweaty salty balls and let my child walk around with a pissy diparters. (thats just a joke yall)
STFU! it’s not like it’s a ban on smoking, take that shit in yalls stinky ass homes
smoking takes up the same space/air as farting….
so if u smoke in front of me…can i fart in front of u?
just saying
Out of control. Freedom isnt free.
I despise these people. I quit smoking several years ago, but if there’s one thing that will make me go back, it’s these holier-than-thou idiots with their endless laws! Next, they’ll be in your homes, hoving over you, insisting you cannot smoke there. And everyone is going to live forever now that that the dreaded cigarette smoke is eradicated. All diseases will come to an abrupt halt. No one will die anymore. Everyone will live harmoniously in a rose garden where the lion lays down with the lamb and little children prance about, poo-less and snotless, looking forward to a life without end. Oh, how I hate these people!
I hate walking down the streets of NY behind dozens of inconsiderate smokers and having to breathe in their toxic waste. It’s your choice to smoke, so keep that shit to yourself.
How will the fashion industry survive this ban? It’s a known fact that the models only drink coffee and smoke cigarettes for most of their meals.