Update: Sadly, the Governor vetoed the bill again. We'll keep trying.
California's governor vetoed an earlier version of a bill that would ban smoking at state beaches and parks. The legislature made changes and sent it back to Brown's desk. Please ask the Governor to sign it now and eliminate a major source of toxic beach litter. Contact: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov39mail/
Here's a sample email:
I urge you to sign legislation (SB386) that bans smoking at state beaches and parks. Cigarette butts are a major source of beach litter. They contain plastic so take decades to degrade, all the while releasing toxic chemicals including arsenic. Butts are frequently mistaken for food by birds and fish, who are harmed by the chemicals and malnourishment. Since biotoxins accumulate up the food chain, people who consume such fish put their own health at risk. While our chapter's Hold On To Your Butt program seeks to educate smokers, provides ashcans at beach entrances, and offers pocket ashtrays to smokers for appropriate disposal of their butts, far too many people see a beach as a huge ashtray. Please sign into law this important ban that will reduce the number of butts in the coastal environment.
