Cities look to snuff out smoking on Florida beaches

(Jenny Kane | AP)
By Jim Turner
Published: Sep. 2, 2022 at 9:09 AM CDT

PANAMA CITY BEACH (NSF) - Visiting from Johnson City, Tenn., Paul and Gail Odom hadn’t noticed people smoking or cigarette butts strewn on the sand as they strolled along the lapping Gulf of Mexico waters Thursday morning. But shortly after being told about a proposed change that would ban smoking cigarettes on Panama City Beach, they saw a pile of discarded butts in the sand.

Paul Odom said people shouldn’t leave cigarette butts in the sand, while saying smoking is “everybody’s individual choice.” Gale Odom, pointing to an area away from a line of beach chairs and the water, added “I think if they’re going to smoke, they should smoke like there, away from people.”

Mallory Archer, a Natchez, Miss., resident enjoying a final day of vacation by relaxing on the beach, was more straightforward in supporting the proposed ban. “That’s easy for me to say because I’m not a smoker,” Archer said. “So, I recognize that.”

Panama City Beach is among several communities that in the coming weeks and months could move forward under a new state law that allows cities and counties to ban smoking cigarettes and vaping at locally controlled beaches and parks.

More:
https://www.wctv.tv/2022/09/02/cities-look-snuff-out-smoking-florida-beaches/