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# Sign says no more butts along the beach
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/sign-says-no-more-butts-along-the-beach/
- Published: 2004-07-02T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:41:22.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Environment, Marina del Rey, #archive-import

*Statewide ban may be next*

*By Daily Press staff*

SM BEACH — Just in time for the Fourth of July weekend festivities, no smoking signs were posted this week along Los Angeles area beaches signaling the beginning of a smoke-free summer.

“Nearly 34 miles of Los Angeles area beaches, from the Ventura County line south to Marina del Rey are now smoke-free,” said Los Angeles County Health Director Jonathan S. Fielding. “Surfers, sunbathers and other visitors, including families with small children, can now enjoy our community beaches without toxic secondhand smoke and litter from cigarette butts.”

Proponents of the smoking bans say the new laws were designed to decrease the litter and create family environments free from secondhand smoke. According Communities Organized Against Smoking and its Trash, also known as COAST, cigarettes are the No. 1 source of beach litter and take at least 15 years to degrade.

“Cigarette butts pollute the ocean, pollute the air we breathe and endanger our small children and marine animals,” said Robert Berger, chairman of the Los Angeles County Smoke-free Beach Task Force and a Santa Monica resident. “With our no smoking policies, the Los Angeles coastline will become a more safe and beautiful destination for visitors, both human and non-human.”

According to a survey conducted by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, 88 percent of people support smoking restrictions on beaches.

Many organizations and public officials see a need for a statewide ban. Legislation to ban smoking at 64 state beaches was approved by the Senate Natural Resources Committee this past Tuesday and is now waiting to be debated by the Appropriations Committee.

The following is a list of city and county beaches that have passed no smoking ordinances: SANTA MONICA Santa Monica Beach MALIBU Malibu Beach LOS ANGELES Cabrillo Beach Dockweiler Beach Will Rogers Beach Venice Beach LOS ANGELES COUNTY Mothers Beach in Marina del Rey Topanga Beach

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/070204-04_02.jpg)

It’s official — signs were put up along the beach in Santa Monica this week that forbid smoking along the coast. (Photo: Photo courtesy)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 2, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/070204.pdf?ref=smdp.com)