Outdoor smoking bans are on the rise as city officials are attempting to clean up for citizens outdoors, according to Boston.com.
The crackdown on indoor smoking first began with ridding bars, restaurants and buildings of smoking sections. However, places like city parks and public beaches across the nation are adding no-smoking signs in the vicinity.
''Secondhand smoke is harmful. It's particularly harmful to children,'' Councilwoman Mary Cheh of the District of Columbia, one of more than 90 U.S. municipalities or counties considering an outdoor smoking law, told Boston.com.
Some reserachers are questioning the reasoning behind the outdoor bans, saying there is no solid evidence inhaling cigarette smoke outdoors can harm someone's health.
''The evidence of a risk to people in open-air settings is flimsy,'' Ronald Bayer, a Columbia University professor, told Boston.com.
There are many studies suggesting second-hand smoke causes health problems, but some argue there isn't enough scientific support saying inhaling smoke in an open-air environment will harm someone's health.
The lack of evidence has not stopped officials from banning smokers from taking their cigarette breaks around college campuses, bus stops, etc.
"Outdoor smoking bans have nearly doubled in the last five years, with the tally now at nearly 2,600 and more are in the works," Boston.com reports.
Federal health officials are supporting the public smoking bans.
"Studies have clearly established that even a brief exposure indoors to cigarette smoke can cause blood to become sticky and more prone to clotting. How long that lasts after just one dose isn't clear," officials say, according to Boston.com
Though it is difficult to pin-point the health risks of outdoor exposure to cigarette smoke, health officials say second-hand smoke is bad and there is no reason to believe it won't harm you in certain settings.
''There's no risk-free level of secondhand smoke,'' said Brian King, an expert on secondhand smoke with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
