A New York City councilman introduced a bill that would make it illegal to smoke while walking in the city’s latest attempt to wage war on smoking.
Councilman Peter Koo, a Democrat from Queens, is looking to make it a misdemeanor offense to walk and smoke at the same time, and those who break the law would be expected to pay a $50 fine, Fox 5 New York reported.
“My bill is very simple, no smoking and walking on New York City Sidewalks,” Koo said of his bill.
Koo proposed the bill with the aim of decreasing the amount of secondhand smoke exposure to non-smokers. The New York City Democrat suggested that smokers would be allowed to stand in one place to smoke.
New York City has implemented policies prohibiting smokers from lighting up in most areas for nearly two decades.
In 2002, the city passed a law banning people from smoking inside bars, restaurants, most workplaces, and in outside public areas such as parks.
Last year, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a law hiking the price of cigarettes in New York City to $13 a pack, making the city the most expensive place in the U.S. to purchase cigarettes.
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