Miami Beach Implements Smoking Ban in Parks and Beaches

Miami Beach has started the new year with a ban on smoking in beaches and parks. Last June, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the ban into law, making it possible. The measure received support from most city commissioners and was advocated for by Dave Doebler of the non-profit volunteer clean-up organization and other activists.

Cigarette butts are one of the most commonly littered items on beaches; we have found thousands of them," Dobler said. The ban gives police the power to make discretionary arrests of repeat offenders. The maximum penalty is a fine of $500 and 60 days in jail, while first-time offenders will face a civil penalty of $100, and repeat offenders will face a $200 fine.

The anti-tobacco organization STOP recently reported that tens of trillions of cigarette butts are discarded each year, making them the "most commonly littered item on earth." These discarded butts often accumulate in parks, beaches, streets, and bus stops because they are small enough to appear less harmful than other types of litter. Due to their size, they are more likely to be improperly disposed of and are known to account for approximately 20% of the debris collected during ocean cleanups.

The issue of cigarette butts.

Chemicals leaked from cigarette butts may be toxic enough to kill 50% of saltwater and freshwater fish exposed to them for 96 hours in the air. This percentage was calculated experimentally by immersing cigarette butts in one liter of water for 24 hours.

However, even these are just a small part of the environmental harm caused by the tobacco industry, according to Stop. This is because tobacco not only "grows on deforested land," but its production also "degrades soil and pollutes air, land, and water." The organization explains that unfortunately, billions of trees are cut down every year to produce cigarettes, accounting for 5% of global deforestation.