Tobacco-Free Beaches and Parks on Lana`i, Maui and Moloka`i

Smoking and tobacco use is prohibited by law at all Maui County:
  • beaches
  • parks
  • tennis courts
  • playgrounds
  • swimming pools
  • athletic fields
  • beach right-of-ways
  • park roadways
  • and all recreation areas


Fines for violations of the tobacco and smoke-free beaches and parks law are up to $500. Fines for littering are up
to $500.

About the tobacco-free beaches law
Bill 24 was signed into law by the Acting Mayor on Earth Day, 22nd April, 2014. The bill passed the 2nd and final reading earlier that day and went into effect immediately. Therefore all County of Maui beaches and parks on Lana`i, Maui and Moloka`i became tobacco-free and smoke-free by law starting Tuesday 22nd April, 2014.

Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i helped get this law passed through providing written and spoken testimony. This is the 3rd 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 tobacco ban passed on Earth Day 2008 and then the City and County of Honolulu passed smoking bans in 2013 and the whole of O`ahu became smoke-free in January 2014.


Implementation
Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i (B.E.A.C.H.) has shared a lot of expertise and educational materials with the Department of Parks and Recreation on Maui, the Maui Council and various environmental and health organizations on Maui in regards to an educational approach to implementation of the new law. B.E.A.C.H. has educated the public about the new tobacco-free beaches and parks at outreach events and has developed educational materials (available below for downloading) and this webpage which provides information about the law.

Educational resources
B.E.A.C.H. volunteers Suzanne Frazer and Dean Otsuki created educational materials about the new law. All design work and photography is by B.E.A.C.H.:
8.5 x 11 printable flyer
11" x 17" printable sign


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



Back


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

Unless noted otherwise, the contents of this website are Copyright © 2006-2020 B.E.A.C.H. Please ask permission before using any text, graphics or photographs from this website.