Marion council split on nicotine ban in parks

MARION — Don't look for a unanimous vote.

The Marion City Council on Thursday will hold a public hearing to listen to pros and cons before it votes on whether to ban nicotine products and electronic vaporizers from all of Marion's 21 parks and trails, including park facilities and parking lots.

At the seven-member council's work session Tuesday afternoon, two council members spoke favorably about the proposed ban and two questioned an absolute ban, saying there ought to be designated smoking areas rather than a complete prohibition.

Council member Cody Crawford, an outspoken supporter of the ban, said Marion is striving to be the 'healthiest city in Iowa,' and so it doesn't make sense to allow a cancer-causing agent such as tobacco in the city's parks and trails, he said.

'To me that is the bottom line. This is a substance that is terrible for everyone,' Crawford said.

He disagreed with council member Joe Spinks, who said banning nicotine from parks would force smokers to stop using the city's parks and trails. There needs to be a designated area in parks for them, Spinks said.

Crawford said smokers threatened to turn their backs on bars and restaurants, too, but that never happened after a statewide ban on smoking was imposed. Some might quit Marion's parks for a time, he said, but they'd adjust and be back.

However, council member Paul Draper said smokers can stand outside bars and restaurants and smoke, so they 'in essence' have a designated smoking area.

Council member Nicolas AbouAssaly said the imposition of a nicotine ban did not equate to keeping smokers away from parks. They can use the parks and simply refrain from smoking, he said. But Spinks said most smokers need to smoke.

Mike Carolan, the city's parks and recreation director, laid out the case for the nicotine ban, saying the idea originated with Marion's Blue Zones wellness project and had been unanimously recommended by the Marion Park Board.

Carolan said the ban would make for cleaner parks, reduce vandalism, promote wellness, enhance park users' experience, align the park system with the schools and limit youths' exposure to nicotine products.

Carolan said the Park Board and the police chief have said that creating designated smoking areas in parks would be impossible to enforce.

'Is it 200 feet from what?' he said of the difficulty in designating areas that must be a certain distance from non-smoking areas.

Carolan said the Marion Park Board already has a non-smoking policy at swimming pools, ball complexes and some park facilities, and most people comply.

AbouAssaly said he didn't think a wider ban would be difficult to enforce because most people prefer to follow rules and so will police themselves.

The proposed ban would fine violators $50, but Carolan said he anticipated a lengthy public education effort and new signs before the city issued any citations.

Carolan said 60 cities in Iowa have imposed some type of tobacco ban and more than 1,000 nationwide.

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