Oahu’s New Smoke Free Beach Ban in Effect

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Photo by B.E.A.C.H.
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Photo by B.E.A.C.H.
Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i (B.E.A.C.H.) is raising awareness of the smoking ban that has gone into effect at several beaches through a series of events at Kapiolani Beach, Kuhio Beach, Kaimana Beach (which is officially part of Kapiolani Beach), Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Sandy Beach and Ala Moana Beach.
B.E.A.C.H. will also be raising awareness at Kapiolani Park which is smoke-free now too.
For information about these events, visit the calendar and events pages on the B.E.A.C.H. website: www.b-e-a-c-h.org
The next event is on Saturday, September 28, at Sandy Beach Park.  B.E.A.C.H. will have an information booth from 1:30pm to 5:30pm and volunteers will do a beach clean-up from 2:45pm to 4:15pm.  Today and yesterday, new “smoking is prohibited by law” signs were put up at Sandy Beach by the City and County Department of Parks and Recreation.  With these signs, enforcement by HPD can now take place.
Similar signs are also up at Ala Moana Beach and at Kuhio and Kapiolani beach parks with more due to go up soon.  Fines for smoking are $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 for the third.  Smoking is also banned in cars at Sandy Beach as the ban applies to the whole of the park.  Also smoking has also been added to the list of activities prohibited on signs at Waikiki beaches and Sandy Beach.
On Saturday, October 5, 2013, B.E.A.C.H. will have an information booth at the Duke Kahanamoku Beach from 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm with a beach clean-up from 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm.
In 2014, the smoking ban at beaches and parks will be extended to all other City and County of Honolulu parks which includes beaches, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, tennis courts, botanical gardens, athletic fields, beach right-of-ways, park roadways and all recreation areas.  The 2014 ban will also apply to the whole of Ala Moana Beach Park (at present it’s the sand area only that is smoke-free).
B.E.A.C.H. volunteers have created educational posters, information cards, flyers, signs and other informational handouts to educate the public about the current smoking ban on beaches and the island-wide ban starting next year.
Photo by B.E.A.C.H.

B.E.A.C.H. has organized meetings bringing together City & County of Honolulu Parks and Recreation Department, Hawaii State Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii, Surfrider Foundation, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and the Honolulu Police Department to collaborate on an educational approach to the implementation of smoke-free beaches and parks on Oahu.

Bill 72 which was signed by the Mayor in April 2013 made Ala Moana Beach smoke-free immediately and the other beaches and park on the bill (Kapiolani Park, Kapiolani Beach, Kuhio Beach, Duke Kahanmoku Beach and Sandy Beach) became smoke-free when Bill 25 was signed into law (parts 1 & 3 of Bill 25 affected Bill 72 enabling it to be enacted and were effective immediately upon the Mayor signing the bill in July).
Bill 25 part 2 goes into effect on January 1, 2014, and this extends the smoking ban to all the other City & County beaches and parks on Oahu.

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1 COMMENT

  1. sure a quick easy way to hook up, But is it worth it? in todays world you have to be so careful, is sleeping around really the thing to do? end up catching something that even Ajax wont clean off? NO I DONT THINK SO. yalls lives are worth more than that.

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