Staff Writer

Old Orchard Beach town councilors are considering a proposed ordinance that would ban smoking on one of Maine’s busiest beaches.

Members of an anti-tobacco action group presented their proposed ordinance to ban smoking on the beach during a July 19 Town Council workshop. High school students Hattie Simon, MaryKate Slattery, Sarah Jenkins and Sabryna Deschaies developed the proposed ordinance after they attended the Maine Anti-Tobacco Summit in 2009.

The Old Orchard Beach residents developed their action plan at the summit after watching a presentation on tobacco bans on Hawaii beaches. They won a $350 grant for their plan to make local beaches smoke-free.

The ordinance, if adopted by the Town Council, would ban use of tobacco products within 25 feet of beaches. Civil penalties would range from $50 to $250.

Simon said the ordinance is needed to reduce beachgoers’ exposure to secondhand smoke and the number of cigarette butts on the beach. Cigarette butts are the top littered item found worldwide on beaches and filters contain chemicals toxic to wildlife, she said.

Simon said the U.S. Surgeon General concluded in 2006 there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, which contains more than 7,000 chemicals. More than 70 chemicals in secondhand smoke are known to cause cancer, she said.

All Maine state parks, beaches and historic sites became tobacco-free in 2009. Tobacco use also is banned at beaches and parks in Portland, Westbrook, Harrison, York and Ogunquit. Scarborough and South Portland enacted tobacco bans on beaches this year. Nationwide, 27 states have passed comprehensive laws that prohibit smoking in outdoor public places and workplaces.

Slattery told town councilors the group conducted a survey for four days at the peak of last summer to gauge public reaction to a tobacco ban. The group collected 400 surveys from residents and visitors. She said 88 percent of those surveyed said they support a ban and 5 percent said they were opposed. Of the 19 people against the ban, five said they would still come to the beach if the ban is implemented.

Council Chairman Bob Quinn asked the group if designated smoking areas would be established and what kinds of signs would publicize a tobacco ban. Simon said the group is willing to use its grant money to help set up waste receptacles.

Councilor Mike Tousignant, who is neutral about the ordinance, said he has concerns about groups of smokers gathering in front of houses. He said he can imagine a “hoard” of 100 people creating a wall of smoke that non-smokers would have to walk through to get to the beach.

Tousignant said he is also concerned the ordinance would be “an enforcement nightmare for the town.”

“We’ve got 100,000 people at the beach. We can’t add more responsibilities to the police department,” he said.

Bethany Fortier of Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition said enforcement is always a major discussion point when towns consider tobacco bans.

“If done well, it is a self-enforcing policy. That really is the truth,” she said. “Clear signs in key places really helps it to be self-enforcing. The education piece is critical.”

Fortier said the coalition can provide signs to the town for free or reduced cost. She also said studies have shown tourism in California was not adversely affected by smoking bans on beaches. In fact, smoke-free beaches can be a draw for families, she said.

Toby Simon, adviser of the anti-tobacco group, said enforcement issues don’t materialize the way town officials are concerned they will.

“You won’t see hundreds of people standing at the end of the street smoking,” she said. “It’s not as much of an issue as people imagine it will be. That’s the whole point of good signage.”

Bill Reichl, recreation manager for Scarborough Community Services, said enforcement of the town’s new beach smoking ban has been going well and is largely self-enforced by beachgoers.

Reichl said signs are displayed at key access points to public beaches and on parking attendant booths. Designated smoking zones are set up at the edges of parking lots away from areas with heavy pedestrian traffic, he said.

“This year we haven’t heard one complaint. It’s been successful,” he said.

Residents and business owners weighed in on the proposed ordinance at what Quinn said will be the first of multiple workshops on the issue. Resident Jerome Beggart, who described himself as a chain smoker, said he is more in support of the ordinance than the girls who developed it. He suggested the issue go to local referendum and that the focus be on education – not civil penalties – for the first couple years.

Resident Mike Coleman called the proposed ordinance “an exceedingly bad idea” and “a solution in search of a problem.” He said the ban could push smokers out of town to other beaches and hurt retailers that sell tobacco products. Secondhand smoke isn’t an issue because the beach has a breeze, he said.

Resident Pat Brown called cigarette butts on the beach “a littering problem not a smoking problem.” She said she is concerned about “unintended consequences” such as driving away tourists.

“I just don’t know if we have the right to tell people how to take care of themselves,” she said.

Sherri Tripp, owner of Ocean Tripp Inn on Union Avenue, said every morning she picks up more than 100 cigarette butts from the beach in front of her business. She said she gives guests a cup for butts and educates them about the importance of not dropping them on the beach. She supports enacting the ordinance.

“The beach is littered with thousands of cigarette butts,” she said.

Resident Patricia Driscoll said she also regularly picks up cigarette butts from in front of her home near the beach. She said the town is “behind the times” on adopting a smoking ban.

“The amount of smoking in Old Orchard Beach I have to say is excessive,” she said. “Do we really want to say come here because you can smoke?”

Councilor Sharri MacDonald praised the group for developing the ordinance and presenting it to the Council. She said it is an important issue for the town to consider and would like to see a larger study to gauge public opinion.

“A sampling of 400 (people) is, for me, a little bit small,” she said.

Councilor Robin Dayton said she appreciates the work the group put into developing the ordinance. She said the workshop “made tremendous strides” in the conversation about the proposal.

Dayton said she is not concerned a ban would deter tourists from coming to Old Orchard Beach because it has not stopped them from going to Ferry Beach State Park in Saco.

“People still go there and they’re very happy,” she said.

Dayton also said people are respectful of signs and “self-enforcement is an extremely viable option.”

Councilor Shawn O’Neill said he can support the idea of a smoking ban and would like the conversation to continue.

“I think it’s the beginning of bigger things to come in Old Orchard Beach,” he said. “I want to move this forward. It should not die here, it’s too big of a topic.”

Quinn said he is confident the council can develop an ordinance that “will work for everybody.” He asked the group that developed the ordinance to gather more research for the next workshop, which has not been scheduled.