A new proposal before the City Council would add bus stops to the growing number of places a person can’t smoke on Oahu.
Councilman Ron Menor said he introduced Bill 28 (2013) after hearing from several constituents who complained about people who smoked near them while waiting for a bus.
"This bill is about promoting the health and well-being of bus riders who are exposed to secondhand smoke while waiting at bus stops," Menor said Friday. "Exposure to secondhand smoke is a particular problem at bus stops because bus riders are oftentimes sitting or standing close to one another at a bus shelter while waiting to catch TheBus. In these situations it’s difficult to avoid inhaling secondhand smoke if some person decides to light up a cigarette."
It already is illegal to smoke at bus stops that have a roof and three walls.
The problem is particularly onerous for seniors or those with disabilities because "for these riders it’s quite difficult for them to move, much less walk away from a smoker," Menor said.
Menor’s bill comes on the heels of the signing of a bill by Mayor Kirk Caldwell earlier this month that bars people from smoking at seven Honolulu beaches, including Sandy Beach, Kapiolani Park, Kuhio Beach and the beach side of Ala Moana Park. Meanwhile, a separate measure, Bill 25 (2013), which is moving through the Council, would ban smoking at all city-operated beaches and parks.
The city of Berkeley, Calif., passed an ordinance banning smoking at bus stops in 2004, and other municipalities have similar restrictions, Menor said.
Bill 28’s language was crafted with the assistance of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii.
Caldwell has had a history of supporting legislation that curbs smoking in public spaces. Asked about Menor’s bill Friday, the mayor said he is inclined to support it.
But he said he first wants to hear the testimony on the measure and the definition of a bus stop and to analyze the bill to see whether would be enforceable.
Michael Zehner, co-chairman of the Hawaii Smokers Alliance, said his organization will oppose Bill 28 as yet another intrusion into a person’s civil liberties.
"If you’re the only person at the bus stop, how reasonable is that if no one else is there and you can’t smoke?" Zehner asked. "I don’t understand the sense of that at all."
Bill 28 is expected to be up for the first of three necessary votes of the nine-member Council when it meets next May 8.
