The city of Claremont, N.H. appears headed for a smoking ban in city parks after the city council spent part of their meeting on Wednesday discussing ways to enforce a possible ban as well as fines and specific areas that would be covered. While nothing was decided on, it was an indicator that a ban is coming, according to a report on VNews.com. The article mentions that when a ban is finally enacted, it likely wouldn’t go into effect until sometime in 2015. City Councilor Charlene Lovett first raised the idea in January. The council instructed City Manager Guy Santagate to develop a preliminary proposal which will they seek public comment on before crafting a more formal ordinance. No time line was given for either of those steps to take place. As has been the case in similar debates in other municipalities, the issue of public health versus personal freedom was one of the main points of discussion on Wednesday, with consideration also being given to reducing litter in parks.
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