Delaware beaches weigh cigarette ban

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Smokers wanting to light up on Bethany or South Bethany beaches may soon have to take their cigarettes elsewhere.

Officials in the Delaware towns are looking into an ordinance that would ban smoking on the beach.

No ban will take place before next summer, said John Fields, a member of the South Bethany Town Council, who will be on the planning commission researching smoking bans.

The decision will probably be made in the next three to four months, after the commission has gathered research and input from residents, he said. The commission's first meeting is set for Aug. 16.

Mr. Fields said he expects some sort of ban will be enacted, although it's not definite.

If a ban passes, the Delaware beach towns would join other regions across the country in trying to keep their sandy retreats smoke-free as beaches become the next target of anti-smoking legislation.

"Smoking is being banned everywhere you go," Mr. Fields said. "Everywhere you turn, there is a new area where smoking is not allowed. I guess the beaches are next in line."

Almost all California beaches are smoke-free. And two weeks ago, the Surfside Beach Town Council passed South Carolina's first smoking ban. After a smoking ban was proposed tothe Rhode Island General Assembly, the statehealth department decided to test a voluntary no-smoking initiative at all Rhode Island state beaches. More cities are considering bans.

Besides Bethany and South Bethany, no other beaches near Washington — including Ocean City, Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks in North Carolina — are considering smoking bans.

And not all attempted smoking bans have passed. Efforts in Cocoa Beach, Fla., were unsuccessful last year, as were attempts for a statewide beach-smoking ban in Hawaii.