In time for peak season vacation action, six favorite Cape Cod Beaches have banned smoking as of June 19, 2014. Smokers need to know before they go, and non-smokers can head to the shore without hesitation.

In response to complaints against smoke exposure from beachgoers, the smoking restriction is an effort to reduce second-hand smoke for thousands of vacationers.

According to a Seashore press release, observing the smoking ban are all six of the Cape Cod National Seashore beaches where lifeguards are on duty:

• in Truro: Head of the Meadow Beach
• in Eastham: Coast Guard Beach and Nauset Light Beach
• in Provincetown: Herring Cove Beach and Race Point Beach
• in Wellfleet: Marconi Beach

Smokers will be allowed to smoke by moving a good distance—400 to 600 hundred feet—from lifeguard stations before lighting a cigarette. For smokers who do not comply, park rangers enforcing the restriction may inform smokers of the ban with a warning, or in fact issue a federal violation notice including a $50 fine.

National Park Service Chief Ranger Leslie Reynolds spoke with the Boston Globe on the matter, stating that the park consulted with the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission before instituting the ban. The article reports that some beach goers find that the ban is a result of “too much government,” and others feel that secondhand smoke was hardly a problem “at a place as large as Coast Guard Beach.” Yet many others favor the ban that will eliminate second hand smoke during the months when crowds are huge, reduce the accumulation of cigarette butts and enhance a healthy family atmosphere.

The National Seashore representatives will set up barriers that clearly designate to smokers the specific areas in which smoking is prohibited. People may smoke in non-guarded areas without worry of penalty.

Various Cape Cod Beaches and Towns Ban Smoking

Some Massachusetts beaches and towns have already embraced no-smoking policies. For example, Eastham prohibits smoking at public beaches, and the Cape towns of Barnstable, Falmouth and Yarmouth have banned smoking. Other National Park beaches have adopted no-smoking policies, including Fire Island National Seashore in New York.

Information from: The Boston Globe, Smoking to be banned on six Cape Cod beaches, by Claire McNeill.