A Seattle suburb has joined in the movement to end smoking in parks, as earlier this week the Kent City Council unanimously approved a proposal that restricts tobacco and nicotine use in those areas.

The list of areas where smoking, vaping, or the use tobacco products will be prohibited is quite extensive, and includes all parks, public squares, public gardens, playgrounds, athletic complexes, community centers, museums, trails, and all drives, parkways, bodies of water, docks, piers, moorage floats, beaches, and parking lots or garages contained therein. It also includes all other parks and recreational areas, developed or undeveloped, owned by the City of Kent or under the management and control of the City of Kent for park purposes.

One area that did get an exemption from the ban is the city’s Riverbend Golf Complex.

The ban goes into effect Aug. 15, with violators subject to a $50 fine.

Seattle made its parks smoke-free in July 2015, and has been joined by neighboring cities of Burien, SeaTac, FifeRenton, and Tukwila. The state’s capital city, Olympia, has also made its parks smoke-free.

Kent is located approximately 20 miles south of Seattle and is home to roughly 127,000 residents.

 

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.