Smokers who want to enjoy a cigar with their meal have their days numbered in the southern California city of Oceanside, as earlier this week the city council passed a ban that will bring an end to lighting up at outdoor dining establishments next month. In a 3-2 vote on Wednesday, the council brought to an end a process that has been in the works for nearly two years and brought the city’s policy towards smoking in line with several others in San Diego County. The ban applies to both private and public property and also includes electronic cigarettes. The ban goes into effect 30 days from the vote and extends the ban to anywhere within 20 feet of a restaurant patio, as well as requiring the owner of a restaurant to post no smoking signs. Smokers who ignore the ordinance could be hit with a $100 fine for a first offense, with the penalty escalating to $200 for a second violation and $500 for the third. Oceanside is located about 38 miles north of San Diego and has a population of just under 175,000 residents.
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