In Providence at the State Capitol of Rhode Island, Senator Erin Lunch has introduced a bill that would ban smoking on all public beaches within the stare.
According to Lynch, discarded cigarette butts, cigar butts and tobacco waste on beach sand is unsightly and unclean and can be particularly hazardous to children if they handle or ingest this material. She says the waste can also wash into the ocean and harm marine life.
The legislation was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. If the measure is passed it would make smoking or disposing of smoking products illegal on or within 20 feet of all beaches under the state’s control.
Rhode Island is home to 1.05 million residents over 1,212 square miles and became a state in 1790.
