No Smoking Allowed in our Town

Photo of Laguna Woods golf course taken by author.
Laguna Woods, California
March 2, 2017 5:57pm CST
Our retirement community is an incorporated town on the edge of Laguna Beach. There are a number of reasons why I enjoy living here. However, one of the unique benefits of life in our town is that it is a 100% "no smoking" community. No one is allowed to smoke cigarettes, pipes, cigars or anything else in any public location. You cannot smoke in a store, restaurant, parking lot, lawn, on the golf course ... not even on your own patio or balcony! The ONLY place where anyone is allowed to smoke is inside their own home or condo, but only if their doors and windows are closed! As a result, I never see anyone smoking; I never see cigarette butts littering the sidewalks; I never smell second-hand smoke. Ironically, because medical marijuana has been allowed in our state with a prescription for several years, and recreational use of marijuana was recently approved, you ARE allowed to grow marijuana on your private patio, if you wish, but you CANNOT smoke it in public! It has the same restrictions as tobacco smoking. I love it! Do any of you know of any other town or community with such strict smoking policies? I'm curious to know if there are other places like this.
9 people like this
10 responses
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
3 Mar 17
You are not allowed to smoke in any public park (unfortunately this doesn't stop everyone).
5 people like this
• Laguna Woods, California
3 Mar 17
@Morleyhunt - That is wonderful that people are not supposed to smoke in the public parks in Niagara. I'm sure that people occasionally break the rules here, too, but I haven't seen them.
3 people like this
• Laguna Woods, California
3 Mar 17
@Morleyhunt - I'm sure I would have said something, too. Seeing people smoke in non-smoking areas upsets me, too.
2 people like this
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
3 Mar 17
@DeborahDiane it's like the number of people who park in the firelane at our local grocery store. Usually there are at least three cars parked over the no parking sign....I told a woman once...her response...oh, I'm just running into the store for a minute...I'm not really parking.....say what...sure looks like she was parked to me.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (339973)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Mar 17
Smoking is pretty much outlawed in many places in WA but I don't think we've gone quite this far.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
5 Mar 17
@DeborahDiane You surely remember that smoking was banned on US Domestic flights under 2 hours only in 1990. I remember when the planes looked like gas chambers.
2 people like this
• Laguna Woods, California
6 Mar 17
@JudyEv - Yes, smoking can be very hard to stop. I was proud of my husband when he gave it a couple of months after we got married 45 years ago.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (339973)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Mar 17
@DeborahDiane For some, it seems an almost impossible addiction to break.
1 person likes this
@youless (112485)
• Guangzhou, China
9 Mar 17
This is a good news for non-smokers and bad news for smokers As a non-smoker, I am happy to see it. This strict policy will cause people getting rid of smoking. I have a friend who travelled to USA before. Since he also couldn't smoke everywhere and sometimes he was afraid he would make a mistake and smoked in a wrong place. Then he didn't smoke during the travel. Perhaps this is a good way to quit smoking
1 person likes this
• Laguna Woods, California
10 Mar 17
@youless - Yes, send your friends to the U.S., especially California, if they want to stop smoking!
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
3 Mar 17
Not here in Europe, but here in Switzerland nobody can smoke in a store, restaurant, bar, parking lot, parks.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
4 Mar 17
@DeborahDiane The Laws in Europe have changed in the last 10 years. Now almost nowhere people can smoke in restaurants, cafés, stores and malls and public places. Even in Italy this is now respected.
2 people like this
• Laguna Woods, California
3 Mar 17
@LadyDuck - Yes, we have noticed a lot of smokers whenever we have traveled in Europe. When our daughter was studying in Switzerland, however, I don't remember seeing any smoking in the restaurants, and that was a good thing!
1 person likes this
• Laguna Woods, California
5 Mar 17
@LadyDuck - That is wonderful. The world is a better place wherever there are fewer smokers.
2 people like this
• Eugene, Oregon
3 Mar 17
The city here is considering banning smoking downtown to try to remove so many young people who hang out and panhandle.
2 people like this
• Laguna Woods, California
3 Mar 17
@JamesHxstatic - That is an interesting way to get rid of the young panhandlers in Eugene. I wonder if it will work, or if they will just smoke anyway. Let me know what happens.
2 people like this
• Eugene, Oregon
6 Mar 17
@DeborahDiane The council will vote on that and banning dogs except service dogs soon.
2 people like this
• Laguna Woods, California
7 Mar 17
@JamesHxstatic - They are getting serious if they want to ban dogs downtown, too!
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (102848)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
3 Mar 17
I know there is a public park in DeRidder Louisana which is about 50 miles north of Lake Charles that does not allow smoking in public.
2 people like this
• Laguna Woods, California
3 Mar 17
@Deepizzaguy - I think that is wonderful that no smoking is allowed in that park. I think more parks should be like that.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (102848)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
4 Mar 17
@DeborahDiane I agree with you.
2 people like this
@sjvg1976 (41281)
• Delhi, India
5 Mar 17
In Delhi it's a rule no one is allowed to smoke at public places but people don't care for it and smoke where they want to. Good to know that live at a place where smoking is not allowed at all on public places.
1 person likes this
• Laguna Woods, California
6 Mar 17
@sjvg1976 - I hope that someday people around the world will stop smoking. It is such a bad habit!
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
3 Mar 17
Most places in Illinois you can smoke outdoors except like ball parks and the like.
1 person likes this
• Laguna Woods, California
3 Mar 17
@fishtiger58 - My family in Missouri smokes and they go outside in their area without a problem. I'm sure that is true throughout Missouri.
1 person likes this
@reskyyandi (3608)
• Indonesia
6 Mar 17
That is great. It must be the most healthy city in the world
1 person likes this
• Laguna Woods, California
6 Mar 17
@reskyyandi - Yes, I love that our city is so healthy!
@SIDIKIMPOLE (1818)
• Eldoret, Kenya
17 Jun 18
Wonderful
1 person likes this