Lee County Smoking Ban: Clean Air With One Smoky Exception
No vapes, no cigs, but if you’re puffin’ an unfiltered cigar like a beachside mob boss—totally fine. Makes sense… if you’ve already inhaled too much smoke.
Let me get this straight. Lee County is thinking about smoking ban. Banning smoking and vaping at all public parks and beaches. I’m not mad about it—nobody wants a face full of Marlboro while they're building sandcastles or trying to enjoy that fresh gulf breeze. But as I read into the Press Release, one little detail smacked me right in the brain: unfiltered cigars will still be allowed. Wait, what?
So, let’s recap. No cigarettes. No vapes. But if you’re puffing on an old-school, unfiltered cigar like you’re auditioning for a mob movie, you’re in the clear? That sounds less like a public health ordinance and more like somebody on the board really loves their Montecristo while surf-casting off the pier.
Now, I’m not here to argue whether vape clouds are healthier than cigar smoking. But let’s be honest—if I’m walking down the beach and I catch a whiff of mango-peach vape, I’ll survive. Compare that to a wall of thick cigar smoke rolling in like a Category 2 hurricane and suddenly you’re coughing up your SPF.
Smoking Exception:
And here’s the part that makes this extra weird: the exemption isn’t just for cigars in general—it’s only for unfiltered cigars. Which begs the question… who decided that was the cutoff? It feels like a law written by someone who spent a little too much time hanging out at the bait shop with a smoking stogie in hand.
I’m not saying we should be lighting up like chimneys in the middle of a playground. But if we’re going to ban smoking and vaping to protect our lungs, noses, and sea turtles, let’s go all in. Either keep the air clean for everyone—or let everybody puff whatever they please and just pass out nose plugs at the park entrance.
If this Smoking ban passes, Rangers… Excuse me, “Ambassadors of the Park”—will be enforcing it. So watch out, beachgoers. That third puff might cost you $300. And for the love of common sense, can we stop pretending cigar smoke doesn’t count?
Let’s not be silly, Lee County. Either we’re banning smoke… or we’re just blowing it.
