« Simson's Senior Amateur Victory Almost Too Easy | Home | A Special Event For BC Golf News VP Anita Sharpe »
Smoking At Golf Courses Banned By Vancouver Park Board
(September 4, 2010)
Puffing on a pipe, chomping on a stogey, sharing a doobie or just plain having a smoke . . . all of these addictive and health-robbing habits of pleasure will no longer be tolerated on golf courses operated by the Vancouver Board of Parks thanks to a new bylaw that came into effect this week. Getting caught could cost an offender anywhere from $250 to $2,000.
The same bylaw and ban applies to Vancouver's parks, beaches and playgrounds. Park rangers began enforcing the no-smoking bylaw officially on Wednesday September 1, 2010.
The smoking ban was first approved in April by the Vancouver Park Board, citing health, environmental and fire-safety concerns.
John Daley (right) shares a moment with his caddy.
"There's no such thing as safe exposure to second-hand smoke, whether you're in an enclosed space or at a park," park board chairman Aaron Jasper said in an interview with the Vancouver Sun reporter Vivian Luk. "It's not a question of telling people what they can or cannot do. If you're a smoker, that's your business. But your personal habits shouldn't put people in harm's way."
Not only are discarded cigarette butts a fire hazard during forest fire season, they are also "toxic pieces of garbage" for wildlife and children, said Jasper.
The ban also applies to facilities and parking lots inside parks, which means no smoking in the parking lot or inside your car before or after a round.
Some golfers have suggested this new bylaw is just another unenforceable law, similar to stopping drivers from using cell phones while they drive. However, for those golfers tired of seeing cigarette butts littering tees and fairways or inhaling cigar or marijuana smoke passing through the air, it will be a small but welcome respite.
« Simson's Senior Amateur Victory Almost Too Easy | Home | A Special Event For BC Golf News VP Anita Sharpe »
