new york city to consider extending smoking ban to parks and beaches!

what a pleasant surprise it was to read that new york city may expand the ban on public smoking to include its parks and beaches!! the new "smoke-free" areas would significantly expand mayor bloomberg's 2002 ban on smoking in indoor public and commercial spaces.

according to the ny times, the proposal would "affect more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities, as well as the city’s seven beaches, which span 14 miles of shoreline."

hurray for all of our children! hurray for all of us non-smokers!!
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update: just one day later... the mayor backtracked from his own commissioner's proposal! remarkably, the proposed ban has generated sympathy for the poor, unfortunate cigarette smoker!