Signs have been put up downtown to notify people of the smoking ban, which was passed in July. Courtesy of the Town of Brunswick
BRUNSWICK — Now that signs promoting a smoke-free Maine Street are posted, warning residents to think twice before they light up downtown, Brunswick Police Officers will start enforcing the ban.
The ordinance prohibits smoking and vaping along Maine Street from Bath Road to the Androscoggin River, within 20 feet of school or public bus stops, within 20 feet of town-owned facilities and grounds, including sidewalks, all parks (including the mall) and Parks and Recreation facilities between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The rules extend to people sitting in parked cars as well.
Brunswick town councilors approved the ban this summer, and while it has technically been in effect since July 31, officers have not policed the situation.
“Now that the signs are posted, we will respond to calls as they come in,” Cmdr. Thomas Garrepy said Wednesday. He added that the ordinance may be hard to enforce because, while the police may arrive within two or three minutes, a person may have put out the cigarette and left by the time police arrive.
Calls will be triaged in order of importance and Chief Richard Rizzo said in July that violations will be treated similarly to traffic violations, which can be appealed before a judge.
While it will be a relatively low priority for the department, Rizzo said it comes down to “a quality of life thing.”
The department has not yet received any calls about smokers, but Garrepy said that may change as it gets warmer and more people spend time outside.
“We’re going in an unknown direction,” Garrepy said, but “we’ll do our due diligence.”
The initial penalty is a verbal warning. Any additional offense within 90 days of that warning results in a civil violation and a fine up to $50.
According to America’s Health Rankings by the United Health Foundation, smoking in Maine has decreased 15% in the past 5 years, dropping from 20.3% of adults to 17.3%.
According to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 18% of high school students use electronic smoking devices or e-cigarettes, nearly twice the number who smoke cigarettes. The CDC estimates that the tobacco industry costs Maine about $1.5 billion each year in “lost productivity” and health care costs.
Brunswick has prohibited smoking at Brunswick Parks and Recreation facilities since 2002.
“Brunswick has long been a leader in discouraging the use of tobacco products in its public parks system and the newly adopted regulations broaden the breadth of areas within the town where tobacco use is prohibited and for the first time regulates such a prohibition via ordinance,” Tom Farrell, director of Parks and Recreation, said in a statement.
Some councilors were concerned that the ordinance was just another step toward gentrification, as Steve Walker said, or as Dan Ankeles put it, possibly “being a way to sweep away certain types of people from downtown.”
But Deb King, executive director of the Brunswick Downtown Association said it’s just another way to help improve the downtown for visitors and families, and added that the ordinance only restricts smoking until 7 p.m. and will hopefully not impact bars and restaurants as heavily.
“If you don’t see a cigarette butt, you don’t notice it,” she said, “but if you do, it’s an eyesore.”
Other towns and cities like Portland, Bangor, Saco and Camden have anti-smoking ordinances as well.
“We’re not developing anything new and radical, just implementing some good and healthy practices,” King said. “We want to be a healthy community not just an attractive one.”
The town collaborated with Mid Coast Hospital’s BeFree Tobacco Prevention and Treatment Program to create the new signs, including the large $775 banner that stretches across Maine Street, welcoming visitors to a smoke-free downtown.
Maine Prevention Services supplied an additional $2,500 through a Tobacco Use and Exposure Prevention grant to fund metal signs and window clings around the downtown.
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