Photo: Dean Otsuki
Smoke-Free Beaches and Parks on O`ahu

Starting 1st January, 2014 smoking is prohibited by law at all City and County of Honolulu:
  • beaches
  • parks
  • tennis courts
  • playgrounds
  • botanical gardens
  • swimming pools
  • athletic fields
  • beach right-of-ways
  • park roadways
  • all recreation areas


The smoking ban applies to the whole park. At beaches this includes parking
areas, park roadways and the park as well as the beach. In Waikiki at Kuhio
Beach, the park extends to the street and includes the walkway. In 2014, the ban
at Ala Moana Beach Park extends to the whole park (in 2013 the ban was on the
sand only at Ala Moana).

For more information about the new law, contact:
City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation phone: 768 3003.



Smoking has been added to the list
of activities prohibited on signs at
beaches and parks where smoking
is banned and there are new metal
"smoking prohibited by law" signs.

Fines are $100 for the first offense,
$200 for the second within a year
and $500 for additional violations.


About the smoke-free beaches laws
Bill 72 which was signed into law by Mayor Caldwell on 8th April, 2013 made Ala Moana Beach smoke-free immediately. Ala Moana Beach became the second smoke-free beach on O`ahu after Hanauma Bay which became smoke-free 20 years ago in 1993.

The other beaches (Kapiolani Beach, Kuhio Beach, Duke Kahanamoku Beach and Sandy Beach) and park (Kapiolani Park) listed in Bill 72 became smoke-free when Bill 25 was signed into law by the Mayor on 21st July, 2013 (parts 1 & 3 of Bill 25 affected Bill 72 enabling it to be enacted and were effective immediately upon the Mayor signing the bill in July)

Bill 25 part 2 went into effect on 1st January, 2014 extending the smoking ban to all the other City and County of Honolulu beaches and parks on O`ahu.

Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i helped get these laws passed through providing written and spoken testimony. This is the 2nd county that B.E.A.C.H. has helped get a smoking ban on all beaches and parks - the first was on Hawai`i Island - the smoking ban there passed on Earth Day 2008.


Implementation
Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i (B.E.A.C.H.) collaborated with the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation, Honolulu Police Department, Hawai`i State Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai`i, Surfrider Foundation and Sustainable Coastlines on implementation of a multi-faceted approach to educate the public about the new smoke-free beaches and parks.  B.E.A.C.H. supported implementation through creating posters and other educational materials, through educating the public at outreach events and more.

Educational resources
B.E.A.C.H. volunteers Suzanne Frazer and Dean Otsuki created educational materials about the new laws (Bill 25 and Bill 72). All design work and photography is by B.E.A.C.H.:
8.5" x 11" printable vertical flyer 2014
11" x 17" poster
4" x 9" information card
11" x 28" bus poster
Information sheet on smoke-free beaches


Why cigarette butts are harmful
Cigarette butts are the most littered plastic item on Hawai`i’s beaches and in the world and they are made from toxic chemicals including arsenic, hydrogen cyanide and formaldehyde. Ingestion of just one or two cigarette butts by young children will result in poisoning or death.  Within an hour of contact with water, cigarette butts leach toxic chemicals into the water that kill fish and other marine life.  The new laws banning smoking at beaches will result in a healthier, cleaner environment that is safe for young children, all beach goers (who won’t be inhaling second-hand smoke) and marine life (that won’t be harmed from cigarette butts washing into the ocean at high tide).


More information about the harm of cigarettes
Information about secondhand smoke:
Surgeon General Report: The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke



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Coral Photograph Credit to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce and Dr. James P. McVey. Dolphins, Japanese Angelfish, Green turtle, and Laysan Albatross photos by James Watt. Humpback whale photo by James Mobeley

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