Jesús María: a project aims to ban smoking in squares and outdoor spaces

The Deliberative Council of Jesús María is debating a project that would prohibit smoking in parks where there are children's play areas. The initiative also contemplates the creation of exclusion zones for smokers, with a minimum distance of ten meters (32.8 feet). Although these are open spaces, the proponents seek to impose new restrictions with economic sanctions.

The proposal was presented by councilor Gabriela Cárdenas, who aspires for the entire city to have "smoke-free parks". According to her explanation, the objective is to prevent children from seeing adults smoke and considering it habitual behavior. This rationale seeks to legitimize a measure that encroaches on individual freedoms without conclusive evidence of direct harm.

The project is based on the Anti-Tobacco Law 26,687, which prohibits smoking in enclosed spaces, but only suggests applying restrictions in open public spaces. Far from that suggestion, the local ordinance aims to establish firm prohibitions, including fines, even without concrete cases to justify such intervention. The text is already in committee and is expected to be approved, since four of the nine councilors are doctors.

An excessive measure in the name of public health

Cárdenas –who is also a cardiologist– absurdly stated that seeing adults smoke could lead children to "normalize" consumption. She argued that it is more likely that, as they grow up, they will become smokers if they are exposed to that image in parks. The argument borders on the speculative and seems to disregard the fact that smoking remains legal and regulated.

The councilor compared the effects of cigarettes to those of diseases such as hypertension or diabetes. Based on that logic, smoking is presented as a health threat comparable to serious chronic pathologies. However, the leap from that comparison to punishing smokers in a public park lacks balance and proportion.

It is anticipated that those who smoke in unauthorized areas will receive economic sanctions. Fines could be equivalent to the value of between 10 and 50 packs of cigarettes. It has not yet been explained how the regulation will be enforced or who will monitor the parks, leaving room for arbitrary interpretations and potential excesses.

Imposing fines for smoking outdoors is disproportionate and punitive, especially when there is no proven direct harm to third parties. Penalizing with the equivalent of up to 50 packs of cigarettes turns a legal behavior into a costly and stigmatizing offense.The project transforms a health recommendation into a revenue-generating mechanism with little sense of justice.