Opponents plan to exploit loophole in park smoking ban

Some people opposed to a smoking ban at city-operated beaches and parks say a bill approved by the City Council this week has a loophole that allows them to light up in state waters along the shoreline.

The City Council on Wednesday passed two smoking bans — one at bus stops and another at city parks. Both would take effect Jan. 1 if Mayor Kirk Caldwell signs them into law as he has stated he will do.

David "Kawika" Crowley, who is against the smoking ban at beach parks, said he has been working with others to plan a "Great Ala Moana Beach Smokeout" in January, with hundreds of people smoking as they stand in state waters.

The city owns 293 parks, including beach parks. But the state has jurisdiction over Hawaii waters up to the shoreline.

While state law does not ban smoking in state waters, it does prohibit carelessness with littering, fire and water pollution, state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokes­woman Debo­rah Ward said.

"We urge the public to be respectful of the environment and the community, and properly dispose of all trash in appropriate receptacles," she said.

Caldwell acknowledged the loophole exists and is a concern.

"Every law we write, someone’s trying to get around it," he said. "We’ll address that down the road somehow."

The mayor said, in general, "I believe that most people are law-abiding.

"If you have a sign saying ‘no smoking in this park,’ people will take that literally and not smoke on the beach or down by the water."

Caldwell said he hopes that smokers will be discouraged from lighting up in the water by peer pressure being placed on them by nonsmokers.

Crowley, a lobbyist with the Hawaii Bar Owners Association, said Friday the ban is "stupid" and would discourage visitors from coming to Hawaii. Other tourist destinations, he said, are laughing to the bank as they watch Hono­lulu "shoot itself in the foot."

However, Suzanne Frazer, a co-founder of Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii, said her group has interviewed visitors who are in favor of the ban.

Frazer said some visitors have even written letters in support of the ban and that an overwhelming number of people at public gatherings have been in favor of the ban.

In addition to eliminating secondhand smoke, environmentalists hope a smoking ban at beaches will reduce the presence of cigarette butts in the sand and nearby waters that jeopardize marine life.

Frazer said cigarette butts contain a number of toxic chemicals, including arsenic. "It’s toxic, dangerous litter," she said.

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Star-Advertiser reporter Gordon Y.K. Pang also contributed to this report.