Home Politics America Panama City Bans Smoking and Vaping on Its Beaches

Panama City Bans Smoking and Vaping on Its Beaches

During a council meeting earlier this week, Panama City Beach officials agreed to ban the use of cigarettes and vaping products on the city's beaches.

Diane Caruana

August 15, 2022

City Attorney Amy E. Myers informed the council officials that cigarettes and vapes could be prohibited by Florida House Bill 105 under the Florida Clean Air Act.

Addressing the council, Mayor Mark Sheldon said that something must be done about the issue of smoking and vaping on beaches. “I’m in favor of it. I’d love us to take a stance.” In response to this, the council asked city attorneys to draft a bill outlining a smoking and vaping ban on beaches.

To this effect, City Attorney Amy E. Myers informed the council officials that cigarettes and vapes could be prohibited by Florida House Bill 105 under the Florida Clean Air Act. Passed by the House in February and the Senate in March, and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 24th, the bill became law July 1st.

Similarly, vaping and smoking has been banned in state parks and beaches across California since 2020. State legislators had been trying to ban smoking for years, and finally Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the ban into law. Proposed by Sen. Steve Glazer of Orinda, as is the case in Panama, sadly the measure does not differentiate between vaping and smoking, banning both on most parts of state parks and beaches. The law rightly bans throwing cigarette butts anywhere besides in the designated waste bins.