No more cigarette butts at the beach?

Some will cite this as another example of government assault on personal freedoms, but I'm having a hard time seeing the downside of a state senate bill banning smoking at state parks and beaches. The bill passed the senate Thursday and now heads to the assembly.

The author, Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, says the bill, SB4, is intended to protect marine life and reduce fire danger statewide, and those are absolutely worthy goals — especially when we try to fight inevitable summer wildfires with this battered state budget.

But I'll be happy just to start seeing fewer cigarette butts at the beach. I spent a week at the Central Coast over spring break and was frequently alarmed and disgusted to see smokers flipping lit cigarette butts around as if the shore were their personal ash tray. Not every smoker is an inconsiderate slob, I know, but enough of them are to make quite a mess. Even more considerate smokers are faced with a disposal problem when they're lounging under a beach umbrella. Ever see a smoker "pack out" his butts after an afternoon at the beach? I haven't.

If the problem were just my tender sensibilities, that would be one thing. But Oropeza’s No Smoking at State Parks and Beaches Act (nearly identical to a bill with the same number that she introduced in late 2006) targets the fact that sea critters regularly ingest and are harmed by cigarette butts.The Ocean Conservancy says smoking-related waste (butts, cigar tips, packaging, etc.) accounts for 38 percent of all the debris on U.S. beaches.

Meanwhile, the California Department of Forestry says smoking causes more than 100 California forest fires every year, burning 3,400 acres annually. Smoking caused the 1999 Jones wildfire, one of the most devastating in U.S. history.

I know, I know — government is taking away all of our rights, one by one. I'm not too worried about this one, though. Especially if it has aesthetic, health, environmental, public safety and budgetary benefits.