A recently graduated high school student, Margo Arnold ♥♥♥, spearheaded Calabasas lawmakers to pass and even more importantly enforce the nation's toughest second-hand smoke ordinance.

On Friday, March 17, Golden Year 3 (2006) cigarettes went up in smoke as smoking was banned in all public areas in the city of Calabasas in Los Angeles. Calabasas is an opulent suburb community on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley. This neighborhood generated international attention for what appears to be the nation's first ban on smoking in all outdoor public spaces. Violators can be fined up to $500 or even face a potential lawsuit if caught smoking in non-designated areas.

Smoking has been banned indoors for quite some time but now it's moving outdoors too; areas including sidewalks, streets, restaurant patios and shopping mall parking lots are “off limits”.

An article in last week's New York Sun suggested that similar bans could also be possible as more cities begin to follow suit. The article cites a poll showing 75% of New Yorker's favoring a ban on outdoor smoking around building entrances, and a majority already favoring a smoking ban in outdoor places.

The anti-smoking campaign is picking up speed as well as success. Research shows, Americans are losing their tolerance for what once was a key symbol of their culture and even those states whose history and economy have been closely tied to tobacco are “calling it quits”. Vanished are the advertising icons Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man from their former prevalent position on U.S. billboards. The ads are replaced by anti-smoking notices. Moreover, smoking has been forbidden on all domestic U.S. flights, and the majority of flights to and from the United States, because of efforts on the part of groups like Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), founded by Professor John F. Banzhaf ♥♥♥.

In an interview with the Washington File, Professor Banzhaf, who teaches and practices public interest law at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, said it is without question that the American public has changed its attitude toward smoking and tobacco. He continued by saying that, “We are much less tolerant toward smoking. We are much more willing to ban smoking and to go far further than we would have only a few years ago.”

For a detailed list of non-smoking policies throughout the world, please visit: http://www.suprememasterchinghai.tv/no_smoking.htm (Only English available)

References:
List of smoking bans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_smoking_bans

Read Calabasas' Comprehensive Second-Hand Smoke Control Ordinance
 http://www.cityofcalabasas.com/pdf/agendas/council/2006/021506/item2-O2006-217.pdf
http://www.smokinghurts.com/News.htm

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