ORDINANCE / SMOKING / FARMER'S MARKETS

Motion - Every day, over 4,000 children in the United States smoke their first cigarette and 2,000 teenagers become daily smokers. More than 440,000 people die every year from tobacco-related diseases, making it the nation's leading cause of preventable death. Furthermore, secondhand smoke is responsible for an estimated 38,000 deaths among non-smokers each year. Secondhand smoke exposure causes as many as 300,000 children in the United States under the age of 18 months to suffer lower respiratory tract infections, including bronchitis and pneumonia; exacerbates childhood asthma; and increases the risk of acute, chronic, middle-ear infections in children. The Environmental Protection Agency has found secondhand smoke to be a risk to public health and has classified it as a group A carcinogen, the most dangerous class of carcinogens. The City of Los Angeles has been in the forefront of protecting people from the dangers of secondhand smoke through the enactment and enforcement of ordinances regulating smoking in elevators, supermarkets, offices and restaurants. In July 2002, the City banned smoking within 25 feet of playground equipment, bleachers, backstops, sports courts and fields, and picnic areas; and in June 2004, the City further banned smoking on City beaches. Since the enactment of these ordinances, other cities within the County and across the State have begun to ban smoking in parks and other public areas. In March 2007, the City Council requested that the City Attorney submit an ordinance which would prohibit smoking in City parks. Children and adults frequent Farmers' Markets in the City of Los Angeles on a daily basis. Farmers' Markets often take place in small areas where patrons could easily be exposed to secondhand smoke. While smoking is prohibited in several public places, the City should do more to protect the health of the public by banning smoking in Farmers' Markets. THEREFORE MOVE, that the City Council, REQUEST the City Attorney to prepare and present an ordinance which would prohibit smoking at City permitted Farmers' Markets.