Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma recently signed into law, legislation that bans all tobacco use in public settings, to include State Parks. While I'm not a smoker and do appreciate the initiative to make public settings and parks a healthier place, I'm not sure how the enforcement would work? Previously in 2007 Oklahoma passed a law that required designated smoking areas in public settings, such as restaurants and bars, and to me this makes more sense; smokers and tobacco users are going to use the product no matter what. Banning tobacco use in parks brings up some issues that I don't think have been considered. On a golf course for instance, how will law enforcement patrol for smokers? The whole point of being on a golf course is to escape the urban lifestyle and enjoy the outdoors for awhile, in my opinion introducing police to a golf course to patrol for smokers not only violates this concept, but also is a waste of taxpayer dollars. I agree with making the public buildings in parks non-smoking, it creates cleaner air and a fresher smell for everyone, but I do think that smokeless tobacco should be allowed as an alternative.
While I disagree with the legislation, (even being a non-tobacco user) Oklahoma State Parks could use this as a grand opportunity to re-brand themselves as the healthy alternative. Parks will not only provide a place of respite now, but also a truly clean environment with pure air. Parks will now be a true escape from the city life of polluted air, and noise, to include tobacco smoke. Maybe Oklahoma will attract a different kind of user now that smokers and tobacco users are no longer welcome. A leisure theory states that less tolerant and less consumptive users will always be replaced by more tolerant and more consumptive users. I think this will be the case with Oklahoma State Parks.
I too find it interesting that in state parks the state of Oklahoma would ban smoking. There seems no clear way to enforce this new law. Such as the golf course talked about in the post; are officers going to patrol the golf courses located at state parks? I know at Karsten Creek, we went to a no tobacco use policy over a year ago. Now while we know that people still smoke while on the course, we are instructed as employees to let the guests know that this is a non smoking facility. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. I find it hard a times to tell someone who is smoking in their golf cart between holes that they are not supposed to be smoking especially after the prices they have paid to be golfing that day.
ReplyDeleteI think officers have better things to do with their day than patrolling for smokers at state parks. Are the officers on lake patrols going to pull people over for smoking now? Seems sort of ridicules to me.