You can forget about lighting up in New York state parks, as the state’s Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Thursday that the state’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation did not overstep its bounds by banning smoking.

The policy, which dates back to Feb. 2013, has been held up in the legal system, largely at the request of a group known as NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, or NYC C.L.A.S.H.. Edward Paltzik, the group’s attorney, has described the ban as government overreach, adding that such a decision must come from the state legislature.

While the court acknowledged that a ban on smoking could be argued as an infringement of an individual’s rights, the broadness of such an argument is incorrect. The ruling included the statement that “the exercise of an individual right is not limitless. We may measure its limits against the damage it does to our neighbors.”

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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.