Bill to ban smoking on E. Oahu beaches

Smoking at Kapiolani Park, Kuhio Beach Park, Duke Kahanamoku Beach Park, Sandy Beach Park and the beach side of Ala Moana Regional Park will likely soon be a thing of the past, under a bill approved 8-1 by the City Council on Wednesday.

Bill 72 (2012) now goes to Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who indicated he is inclined to sign it.

Officials from the state Department of Health, the Sierra Club Oahu chapter, the Surfrider Foundation and Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii testified in support of the bill.

Council Vice Chairman Ikaika Anderson nearly succeeded in having the bill ban smoking on all Oahu parks and beaches. But his proposed amendment was rejected, 5-4.

Councilman Stanley Chang introduced the bill last year as a public health initiative and as a way to reduce the number of cigarette butts that litter East Honolulu beaches. Chang and others said beach cleanups consistently show that cigarette butts are the biggest source of trash found in the sand.

But Chang and Council Parks Chairwoman Carol Fukunaga said city Parks Department officials agree with them that it would be best to have a partial ban and collect information to determine whether to apply the ban islandwide in the future.

"One benefit to doing this on an incremental level will be the ability for us to gather data on the effectiveness of such a ban, and especially its impact on both our residents and our visitors," Chang said.

The bill calls on the Parks Department to submit reports to the Council on the effectiveness of the law.

The bill would take effect upon Caldwell’s signature.

The mayor indicated that he would sign the bill assuming it passes a standard legal review by city attorneys. Violators would be fined up to $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation in a one-year period, and $500 for subsequent violations, the same penalty for smoking in other restricted places.

Caldwell supported a statewide ban on beach smoking, a measure that was defeated, when he served in the state House of Representatives.