NEED TO KNOW
- The City Council of Jacksonville, Fla. has voted to ban smoking and vaping on public beaches
- The new ordinance includes an amendment to ban vaping, e-cigarettes, and unfiltered cigars on the sand
- Violators will face a $50 fine and a possible misdemeanor charge
All types of smokers are going to have to clear the sand in one tourist hotspot.
On Monday, May 5, the City Council of Jacksonville, Fla., voted unanimously to ban all forms of smoking on its beaches.
Residents expressed their concerns about the consequences of smoking as well as the harm that second-hand smoke causes to those in the vicinity of smokers.
The city’s new amendment dictates that “Smoking means inhaling, exhaling, burning, carrying, or possessing any lighted tobacco product, or electronic nicotine or vaping product, including cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, electronic pens, e-cigarettes, and any other lighted tobacco, or electronic vaping product,” as well as unfiltered cigars.
The ban went into effect immediately. Violators can expect to pay upwards of $50 if caught smoking on the sand and may be charged with a misdemeanor.
Previously, the ban excluded e-cigarettes, unfiltered cigars, and “any other lighted tobacco.” However, with the latest addition to the ban, there’s no debate on what beachgoers are allowed to smoke on the sand: nothing at all.
“I’m a little disappointed we didn’t do it in the first place,” Councilman Greg Sutton said of the updated language, “but I think it’s the right thing to do.”
There is already discussion about applying a similar ban elsewhere in the city. Jacksonville Councilwoman Sandy Golding added that she hopes to expand the current bans to other public locations that the community finds littered with used tobacco products, including parks.
Jacksonville Beach is a tourist hub attracting spring breakers and families. According to local Florida newspaper, Alligator, in 2023, the state saw a record 37.9 million visitors between January and March, marking the largest influx during the spring break months.
Jacksonville is the latest in a string of cities in the state to implement smoking bans on beaches, joining Treasure Island, Dania Beach and Fort Lauderdale in South Florida, and Okaloosa Island Beach.
Other tourism-focused states have made similar bans in all of their public spaces, including beaches. In New York, a smoking ban was enforced in 2022 for all public parks and beaches, with a $50 fine for violators. California has a similar ban that went into effect in 2019, which states that there’s no smoking or vaping of tobacco and marijuana products “in most areas of California state parks and beaches.” Violators in this state are fined $25.
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