Jersey City Considering Smoke Free Parks

Another New Jersey town may ban smoking in it’s parks. Jersey City Councilman Roland Lavarro, himself a smoker, is sponsoring a measure to ban smoking at the city’s 67 parks and recreational areas.

“While I know how hard it is to lose another place to smoke, it’s really the right thing to do,” he said.

Hudson County banned smoking from its parks earlier this year. Eight of the county’s 12 municipalities – East Newark, Hoboken, Kearny, North Bergen, Secaucus, Union City, Weehawken and West New York – have already made their parks cigarette-free, according to officials from Gasp, a nonprofit that advocates for the bans.

Smoking e-cigarettes in city parks would be prohibited under Lavarro’s proposal, too.

Smokers found to violate the ban would be subject to a $250 fine for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.

How do you feel about smoking in public parks? Discuss in the comment section below.