Smoke-free beaches proposed in Morro Bay
The City of San Luis Obispo was the first in the state to ban smoking in restaurants and the workplace, and now Morro Bay may be the first on the Central Coast to ban smoking on its beaches.
The push to make Morro Bay beaches smoke-free is coming from kids, many of whom are not even old enough to drive. They are members of the Estero Bay Youth Coalition, and they range from the elementary school to college age.
They asked the Morro Bay City Council in April to ban smoking on city beaches, saying it pollutes the air and is gross. City staffers agreed, and on Monday night, they will introduce an ordinance that will ban smoking and fires from city beaches and piers.
Critics argue a ban infringes upon their right to smoke, but health officials say cigarette butts are the top pollutant on beaches. In fact, last September, volunteers picked up more than 2,000 from the Morro Bay State Beach in a three-hour period.
The smoking-ban proposal also calls for limited enforcement, meaning it will be treated like the littering law.
Once passed, Morro Bay will be the only city between Carpinteria and Santa Cruz with smoke-free beaches. The SLO County Tobacco Control program failed to pass a smoking ban a few years ago in Pismo Beach.
