Smoking in the municipal parks of Alameda and Contra Costa counties was brought to an end on Tuesday, as the East Bay Regional Park District voted to ban lighting up in the 65 parks it oversees.

The push to end smoking was led by a group called Save The Bay, which wanted to reduce the litter and toxins that get into San Francisco Bay, while also making parks healthier places for all visitors, according to a report from KTVU.

The only areas granted an exemption from the ban are overnight camping areas.

The meeting agenda packet does not specify the penalty for violating the ban, but keeping in line with the rest of Ordinance 38, which governs the parks, violators would likely face an infraction.

Combined, the two counties are home to an estimated 2.673 million people.

 

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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.