Enforce Smoke-free Beach, Crest Resident Urges

WILDWOOD CREST – Wildwood Crest Commission, during its Sept. 1 meeting, responded to a complaint regarding smoking on the beach.
A Wildwood Crest resident, who joined the meeting via the call-in option, recounted several instances on the beach where she had to ask people to stop smoking. 
“My family and I have been in the Crest for 15 years,” she said, “and we love the town, we love the beach. We have an excellent beach patrol. The problem is that there have been very few days we have been on the beach this year that someone had not been smoking near us.”
Typically, people are not aware of the recent law and quickly put out their cigarettes, according to the resident; however, she said she had an unpleasant exchange with one beachgoer and had to involve lifeguards. 
She explained that people enjoy the beach for the air and water and that no one, especially children, should have to inhale secondhand smoke. She also said that it is the town’s responsibility to make sure these instances stop happening by enforcing the law and that perhaps there should be “bigger and better signs” regarding the rules. 
In response, Mayor Don Cabrera explained it was anticipated that it “would be a challenging year for enforcement,” due to the timing of the law being put in place, which happened to be “right before the summertime.”
It was late in the season for the community to allow for designated smoking areas, according to Cabrera.
“There was not enough information that we could put out in a short amount of time before the summer started,” he said; however, going forward, there will be additional signage, flags, and patrol to enforce the law. He also mentioned she shouldn’t take matters into her own hands and should, instead, call the police. 
Lastly, he said, although the town is working against the busy summer and shortness of labor, they are doing their best to resolve the issue going forward.