By Clare Beezhold
News Editor
The Redondo Beach City Council unanimously approved a comprehensive smoking ban on May 7, but the council has yet to vote on a formal ordinance that would make the proposal a law.
The ban will outlaw smoking in all public areas within the city limits and will make it a requirement for local retailers to attain a license to be able to sell cigarettes and vaporizers. According to the proposed ordinance, a businesses caught selling tobacco products to minors will face a 60-day suspension after the first offense, 90-day suspension after the second offense and a revocation of their tobacco retailer’s license after the third offense, along with fines for each offense.
“Similar bans have been effective in other cities and I think it will be effective here in Redondo Beach,” Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand said. “Most people do not want to break the law, and the power of having the law on your side allows those who want to breathe clean air to politely tell offenders they are breaking the law by smoking.”
The ban will also prohibit the retail sale of flavored tobacco products and other smoking devices designed to appeal to minors. According to Redondo Beach City Council Member John Gran, the proposal places limits on flavored vapor products, although the council has not yet formalized the wording of that part of the ordinance.
“The flavors are designed to attract younger users, [but] if someone is legally able to purchase these products, they should have the full choices,” Gran said. “As a City Council Member, I also need to identify and consider the minority’s view on a topic [because] habits and current practices are difficult to change.”
Currently, Redondo Beach forbids smoking on beaches and in public parks; the ban will intensify and extend these limitations. The Redondo Beach City Council agreed in October of 2018 to consider the ordinance.
“During our deliberations, it became very clear that a majority of our residents want to see this smoking ban pass and go into effect,” Gran said. “I’m for taking a measured, stepped approach that can be tightened down the road, should it be deemed necessary.”
There will also be an educational component to the ban, and the city will post signs similar to those in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach to help spread awareness about the new law. However, police officers will not be actively looking for smokers to write tickets to, Brand said.
“I think the ban is a good idea because at least public smoking will be limited and we won’t have to walk around smelling weed and cigarette smoke,” sophomore and Redondo Beach resident Francesca Dewysocki said. “Most people in Redondo don’t know about the ban and it’s not very publicized, [so] it won’t have a great effect unless the police start enforcing it.”
The figures given to City Council members state only six percent of the Redondo Beach population still smokes. Most people who reach out to the city council are in favor of the smoking ban; however, the council did receive notes from smokers that are upset about the ban, Gran said.
“The effectiveness of the ban is hard to measure, the ban is more of a community statement that they wish to be smoke free,” Gran said. “A smoking ban is hard to enforce, but does create a public peer pressure to not smoke in public.”
Leave a Reply