Smoking ban on beach? Put a pipe in it

Tony Richman

My wife and I have lived in Laguna Beach for about 15 years. Our

backyard is a beach and I occasionally smoke my pipe in it.

I read that our City Council is preparing an ordinance prohibiting

smoking on our beaches (Coastline Pilot, April 30). Councilwoman Toni

Iseman has “a personal issue since she finds so many cigarette butts

buried in the sand.” I have to wonder how many plastic bottles,

grocery bags, beer cans, Styrofoam takeout containers, etc. that she

had to move out of the way in order to find the offending “butt?”

Cleaning up our precious beaches is a worthy goal. I’ll be the

first to sign on to a “no tolerance” anti-litter plan. But if

outlawing smoking on a beach is our way of reducing litter, it’s akin

to cleaning up after an elephant with a spoon.

Lastly, what about me, City Council? As I said, I smoke a pipe.

Zero litter. Let’s just grow up. We sure don’t need more “feel good”

laws. How about enforcing the anti-litter laws already on the books?

By the way, the only comment that I get from strangers on the beach

about my pipe is, “Gee, that smells great. It reminds me of my ... “

* TONY RICHMAN is a Laguna Beach resident.