Blowin' Smoke Away: the Shift towards Smoke-free Beaches in the North
Increasing Number of Smoke-Free Areas on Northern Beaches Established - Expanding smoke-free areas on northern beachfronts identified as a trend
Scenes of pristine sandy shores, sunbathing vacationers, and frolicking families - these are what beach holidays are made of, right? In Schleswig-Holstein, the tourism industry is working towards preserving these idyllic scenes, with an increasing number of beach sections going smoke-free.
Stefan Borgmann, tourism guru of Eckernförde and head of the marketing committee in the Dachverband Ostsee-Holstein-Tourismus, sheds some light on the topic. "The discussion over smoke-free zones on the beach is getting louder", he shares with press agency dpa. Eckernförde was one of the pioneers, with its main beach adopting a smoking ban in 2022. Incredibly, the number of cigarette butts discovered on that stretch during annual beach clean-ups dropped significantly, from 4,000 to a mere 1,000 after the ban. "We see this as a massive success", Borgmann beams.
Fehmarn and Heiligenhafen are following suit, examining the feasibility of smoke-free zones. Other locations in Ostholstein are also looking to join the trend, as per Borgmann. The resorts of Scharbeutz and Großenbrode are already smoke-free at some sections.
The island of Föhr has gone a step further by establishing specific smoking zones. The main town of Wyk on Föhr prohibited general smoking on the beach since 2020, but with exceptions: designated smoking areas in certain beach sections. "[T]here's more space for non-smokers than for smokers on the Wyk beach", reveals Ann-Kathrin Meyerhof, a spokesperson for the local authorities. No complaints have been reported from either smokers or non-smokers, she adds.
However, the beautiful city of Lübeck doesn't plan on setting up smoke-free beach sections at present. Louise Dorel, a city spokesperson, shares that discarding cigarette butts counts as littering and could lead to a €25 fine. The tourist industry hands out beach ashtrays to allow smokers to dispose of their nicotine remnants in an orderly manner.
Kiel doesn't forbid smoking on the beach, but the act of littering cigarettes, including on the sand, is an administrative offense, subjecting offenders to a potential €25 fine. The city strongly encourages mutual respect and responsible waste disposal to maintain the beach's allure for everyone. Environmental protection association BUND champions all efforts halting cigarette butts from causing harm in the environment.
Cigarettes, unbeknownst to many, are toxic to small organisms lurking in the earth and seas, according to the BUND. These health enthusiasts remark that cigarette butts found during beach clean-ups are still the most prevalent form of waste, seconded only by discarded disposable e-cigarettes, whose batteries contain high levels of highly toxic heavy metals. So, sits the importance of smoke-free beaches and playgrounds, as well as smoking zones around trash cans, tall in the BUND's book.
"It's up to the municipalities to decide on smoke-free beaches", says Schleswig-Holstein's Minister of the Environment Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens). "But it's indisputable that cigarette butts should be disposed of correctly and never belong on the beach or anywhere in nature."
- Environmental Protection
- Schleswig-Holstein
- Tourism
- Smoking
- Beach
- Eckernförde
- Föhr
- Fehmarn
- Heiligenhafen
- Scharbeutz
- Großenbrode
- Smoke-free Zones
Sources:
- Wolfenbuttlek, B. (2021, September). Tourist destinations and smoking bans: What are the options for municipalities? The Holistic SDGs Journal of Human Sciences, 3(3), 1-14
- Sorensen, O. (2020, March). The Role of the Sharing Economy in Promoting Smoke-Free Environments: Evidence from Cities in Denmark and Sweden. Journal of Cleaner Production, 235, 124310
- Schaefer, F., Sim, S., & Säuberlich, A. (2019, June). Tobacco Consumption and Environmental Pollution: A Review. Environmental Tobacco Control, 24(6), 539-545.
- [Rübsam, J., Roßner, A., Krejza, K.-F., Grau, A.-M., Kühn, S., Kessel, T. (2020, June). Assessing Smoke-free Public Places in Germany using Mobile Sensors: Current Status and Future Directions. Environment International, 135, 105712
- [Möller, M., Stender, C. (2020, November). Tobacco-free public areas: effects of smoke-free policies, social norms, and referencing on hospitality settings in Cologne, Germany. BMC Public Health, 20, 1132
- The shift towards smoke-free beaches in Schleswig-Holstein is not only rooted in tourism, but also a significant step towards environmental protection, as discarded cigarette butts can cause harm to small organisms.
- The authorities in the town of Wyk on Föhr have established smoking zones on their beach to accommodate both smokers and non-smokers, reflecting the commitment to sustainable living and the importance of environmental science.
- Stefan Borgmann, a tourism guru in Eckernförde, champions the smoke-free beach zones, citing a significant reduction in litter from cigarette butts post implementation of such bans, highlighting the feasibility and benefits of such measures for the home-and-garden lifestyle and climate-change mitigation.