{"id":76279,"date":"2025-03-12T10:17:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T14:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winterhavendaily.com\/?p=76279"},"modified":"2025-03-12T10:17:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T14:17:36","slug":"city-of-winter-haven-considers-banning-vaping-and-smoking-in-city-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winterhavendaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/12\/city-of-winter-haven-considers-banning-vaping-and-smoking-in-city-parks\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Winter Haven Considers Banning Vaping and Smoking in City Parks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

City of Winter Haven Considers Banning Vaping and Smoking in City Parks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by James Coulter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Do you plan on taking a puff of your vape? Not so fast! You won’t be able to do that in a public park if the City of Winter Haven adopts an ordinance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 At their meeting on Mon. Mar. 10, Winter Haven city commissioners reviewed a proposed ordinance that would place restrictions on vaping and smoking in public parks within the city limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 Specifically, the ordinance would prohibit “smoking within the boundaries of any public parks and\/or public beaches that the municipality owns and\/or leases.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) for Polk County had adopted a similar ordinance restricting vaping and smoking within public parks owned or leased by the county. That ordinance had been adopted on Nov. 7, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Assistant City Manager Charlie Bird, wrote in the city agenda memo that the ordinance is being considered “in an effort to affirm and promote a healthy environment within the City.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 As such, the ordinance, as Bird further elucidated, would promote “the public health, safety, morals and welfare of the citizens, residents and visitors to the City.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 No private businesses would be impacted by the ordinance, either through economic impact or on “direct compliance costs” through any new charges or fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 However, as Bird explained, “there may potentially be indirect impacts on the sale of tobacco products within the City but such potential impacts are so de-minimus and\/or negligible that same are not ascertainable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 City Commissioners did not vote on the ordinance that evening. They will review and vote on the ordinance at their next meeting scheduled for Mon. Mar. 24, 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City of Winter Haven Considers Banning Vaping and Smoking in City Parks by James Coulter  Do you plan on taking a puff of your vape? Not so fast! You won’t be able to do that in a public park if the City of Winter Haven adopts an ordinance.  At their meeting on Mon. Mar. 10, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":76277,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[504,48,55,68,410,54,1161],"class_list":{"0":"post-76279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fast-factual-free","8":"tag-city","9":"tag-city-commission","10":"tag-city-commission-meeting","11":"tag-city-of-winter-haven","12":"tag-commission-meeting","13":"tag-meeting","14":"tag-vaping"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winterhavendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/untitled-2-1-1.png?fit=1280%2C853&ssl=1","aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t