Smoking Ban in Parks

The Board of Clark County Commissioners on Wednesday indicated they will not support a ban on smoking in county parks. The Vancouver City Council voted in December to ban all smoking and tobacco use in city parks and recreation centers. The three county commissioners, however, said during a work session that they like a 2005 policy that declared outdoor recreation sites as voluntary tobacco-free zones. Signs are posted at designated areas — such as playgrounds and restrooms — but there’s no penalty for lighting up. Pete Mayer, director of Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation, said the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission recommended a smoking ban in 2010. As commissioners prepare to update the parks code, it’s a good time to consider the ban, Mayer said. Mayer, Director of Public Health John Wiesman and Dr. Alan Melnick, the county’s public health officer, gave several reasons to ban smoking in parks. A 2009 survey found that 66 percent of Clark County adults agreed smoking should not be permitted in outdoor public places where children are present, and 98 percent of Clark County adults believe it’s harmful to breathe secondhand smoke. “When I’m running through the park, I don’t want to run through smoke,” said Wiesman. “I think people want smoke-free environments, and our kids deserve that,” Wiesman added. Melnick said this region has a higher rate of people with asthma, and it doesn’t take much smoke to trigger an asthma attack. The arguments didn’t persuade commissioners. Commissioner Tom Mielke, who last summer said “the jury is still out” on the danger of secondhand smoke, said telling people they couldn’t smoke in parks was an example of the government overregulation that he hates. He also didn’t want to write a law that would be difficult to enforce. As for people with asthma, Mielke said some county parks have fire pits and barbecues, so there’s going to be smoke in the air. What’s next, Mielke asked, regulating what food people can barbecue in parks? Commissioner Steve Stuart said he won’t infringe on the rights of smokers. If people think smoking is so bad, then lobby to make it illegal. But it’s legal, and he doesn’t want to disenfranchise smokers.