New York (CNN) -- Smokers in New York City looking to light up in most public places will not be able to without paying a price after an outdoor citywide smoking ban takes effect Monday.

The law, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed in February after it was passed by the New York City Council, will make smoking illegal in New York City's 1,700 parks and on the city's 14 miles of public beaches. Smoking will also be prohibited in pedestrian plazas like Times Square.

The ban is designed to help curb exposure to secondhand smoke as well as reduce litter.

Secondhand smoke causes close to 50,000 deaths per year, and side effects may include lung cancer, respiratory infections and asthma, according to the American Lung Association's website. Cigarette butts account for 75% of the litter found on New York City beaches, according to a news release from Bloomberg's office.

"Smoking in parks and beaches not only harms people trying to enjoy these recreational facilities, it also causes a litter problem that harms the beauty of our parks," Bloomberg said before he signed the bill into law.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/23/new.york.smoking.ban/index.html?iref=NS1

We New Yorkers need to start a campaign to get Bloomberg the hell out of office. He single handedly ruined NYC.

I like the idea. We have laws like that Illinois - no smoking in public places. If a person wants to smoke, that's their business, but there's no reason why non-smokers should have to be around such a disgusting and dangerous addiction.

I am all for these kinds of bans, but I do think the downside is that the next step is going to be banning in multi resident units.

Seems a bit extreme.

Why don't they just tell us what to wear each day, what job we have to work at, how much tax we have to pay, where we have to live, how much rent we have to pay, what we have to eat and drink. Point is its just ridiculous and more and more its like a dictatorship, pretty soon you won't be able to leave your house without permission.

Mike Bloomberg is a pompous asshole, he spends money on things that we don't even need. Why did he have to build 2 new stadiums, why didn't he use that money for schools, sanitation or the transit system? What the hell did we need 2 new stadiums for? I thank god I live on Long Island because many of his laws don't apply to me.

Tony Marino wrote:

Why don't they just tell us what to wear each day, what job we have to work at, how much tax we have to pay, where we have to live, how much rent we have to pay, what we have to eat and drink. Point is its just ridiculous and more and more its like a dictatorship, pretty soon you won't be able to leave your house without permission.

Mike Bloomberg is a pompous asshole, he spends money on things that we don't even need. Why did he have to build 2 new stadiums, why didn't he use that money for schools, sanitation or the transit system? What the hell did we need 2 new stadiums for? I thank god I live on Long Island because many of his laws don't apply to me.

I think it's only a hop, skip and jump away from cigarettes being banned outright.

I heard from another New Yorker a while back that the city has become much more tamer and 'family friendly' than it was back in the 1980s. Is this true?

Chris wrote:

Tony Marino wrote:

Why don't they just tell us what to wear each day, what job we have to work at, how much tax we have to pay, where we have to live, how much rent we have to pay, what we have to eat and drink. Point is its just ridiculous and more and more its like a dictatorship, pretty soon you won't be able to leave your house without permission.

Mike Bloomberg is a pompous asshole, he spends money on things that we don't even need. Why did he have to build 2 new stadiums, why didn't he use that money for schools, sanitation or the transit system? What the hell did we need 2 new stadiums for? I thank god I live on Long Island because many of his laws don't apply to me.

I think it's only a hop, skip and jump away from cigarettes being banned outright.

I heard from another New Yorker a while back that the city has become much more tamer and 'family friendly' than it was back in the 1980s. Is this true?

I suppose so, crime has dropped quite a bit and I do see a lot of tourists and families here all the time.

Tony Marino wrote:

Why don't they just tell us what to wear each day, what job we have to work at, how much tax we have to pay, where we have to live, how much rent we have to pay, what we have to eat and drink. Point is its just ridiculous and more and more its like a dictatorship, pretty soon you won't be able to leave your house without permission.
...

Tony, Tony, Tony - Chill Baby.

They do tell us what to wear each day (I'm a nudist remember?). There are always gonna be limits on absolute freedom. You can take a stand and fight it, but that gets expensive sometimes, unless you get enuf ppl behind a protest. (How hard is it to get a recall petition in NY? We just got rid of an asshole commissioner and our county mayor that way)

As for the smoking in public, it may seem extreme but believe it or not, tobacco smoke wafting thru the air outside is also irritating. I hate to be on the beach downwind of a smoker. It actually does irritate my nose when the smoke blows by. However, I don't know if they have quantified the health effects of it as they have on indoor ambient smoke. It likely wouldn't be that much in passing.

Shale wrote:

Tony Marino wrote:

Why don't they just tell us what to wear each day, what job we have to work at, how much tax we have to pay, where we have to live, how much rent we have to pay, what we have to eat and drink. Point is its just ridiculous and more and more its like a dictatorship, pretty soon you won't be able to leave your house without permission.
...

Tony, Tony, Tony - Chill Baby.

They do tell us what to wear each day (I'm a nudist remember?). There are always gonna be limits on absolute freedom. You can take a stand and fight it, but that gets expensive sometimes, unless you get enuf ppl behind a protest. (How hard is it to get a recall petition in NY? We just got rid of an asshole commissioner and our county mayor that way)

As for the smoking in public, it may seem extreme but believe it or not, tobacco smoke wafting thru the air outside is also irritating. I hate to be on the beach downwind of a smoker. It actually does irritate my nose when the smoke blows by. However, I don't know if they have quantified the health effects of it as they have on indoor ambient smoke. It likely wouldn't be that much in passing.

I understand your point as far as smoke outside but Cigarette smoke does not bother me and its not even that ban that annoys me, what annoys me the most is the fact that people are told what they can and can't do. People here do not seem to want to get involved in getting a petition going to oust this jerk. Besides, the Mayor has too many of the "right" people behind him, let's just leave it at that.

Chris wrote:

I think it's only a hop, skip and jump away from cigarettes being banned outright.

I hope the government doesn't make that mistake again. What they want is for everyone to stop smoking so there is a reduction in health costs but for everyone to keep buying cigarettes so they can keep collecting the tax.

There are far worse pollutants in the New York air than cigarette smoke. I wonder if this ban encompasses artificial cigarettes as well.

LOL, I can't remember who it was but I heard some celebrity tell a story of how he was sitting in an open air sidewalk cafe and lit up a cigarette. A waiter had to tell him sorry but there was no smoking on the premises so the guy had to step over the low wall between the seating area and the sidewalk to smoke. Standing next to an idling bus.

alan smithee wrote:

LOL, I can't remember who it was but I heard some celebrity tell a story of how he was sitting in an open air sidewalk cafe and lit up a cigarette. A waiter had to tell him sorry but there was no smoking on the premises so the guy had to step over the low wall between the seating area and the sidewalk to smoke. Standing next to an idling bus.

You're right Tony. The shit is stupid. And I don't even smoke. A park is an OPEN area with OPEN space. The smoke wafts away. If you don't want to be around cigarette smoke, how about YOU move?