Photo by Kevin H.

All of your hopes and dreams are now up in smoke. That is, if your hopes and dreams involved smoking cigs near playgrounds, at which point we’d ask you to reevaluate your priorities in life. The D.C. Council passed legislation yesterday that would ban smoking near city-owned playgrounds, public recreational facilities, and bus stops.

First introduced on February 4 by Councilmembers Vincent Orange (D-At Large), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), and David Grosso (I-At Large), the legislation proposed a ban on smoking all tobacco products at playgrounds, public recreational facilities, and bus stops in the District. This includes all city parks, dog parks, outdoor trails, swimming pools, rec centers, and similar public facilities and parks.

The legislation was supported and strengthened by Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), who heads the Committee on the Environment, Public Works and Transportation, and passed on second reading during yesterday’s meeting unanimously. It was, however, amended to remove criminal penalties.

“It is telling that this measure was noncontroversial,” the group SmokeFree DC said on its website. “We remember the reaction in 2002 to the proposal that bars – gasp! – be made smokefree. One would have thought that the world was going to end. But people are much more aware now of the health hazards of secondhand smoke, and non-smokers are increasingly standing up for their right to breathe clean air.”

The bill will now go to Mayor Gray’s office to be signed off on before it heads to Congress for a review period of 30 days.

“This legislation seeks to provide increased protections to the residents of the District from the deadly effects of secondhand smoke,” Cheh previously said in a statement on her website. “At the moment, District residents are protected from secondhand smoking in many indoor establishments, like restaurants, bars, and all places of employment. However, we currently provide no protection from secondhand smoke in outdoor environments, where many D.C. residents, including children spend a considerable amount of their time.”