The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners puff puff passed a new crackdown on beach and park smoking – with one smoldering exception.
The panel prohibited smoking and vaping on all park property and on county-managed beaches within 600 feet of the Atlantic Ocean shoreline.
The changes follow new authority granted to local governments by the Florida Legislature in 2022, allowing counties to regulate local plume production.
But a crucial stogie stipulation remains: cigars are still allowed thanks to state law.
The restriction prevents local governments from banning “unfiltered cigars,” and the county’s new amendments reflect this requirement.
The new rules also expand the definition of “litter” to include cigarette butts and vaping paraphernalia.
Under the updated code, tossing these items on the ground is now a violation that carries a $53 fine.
Cigar-making was once a significant economic driver in St. Johns County, with the practice first introduced to St. Augustine in the 19th century by nimble-fingered Spanish and Cuban settlers.
The industry grew rapidly, quickly becoming the county’s second-largest industry after the railway.
The Solla-Carcaba Cigar Factory, built between 1907 and 1910, became a major production hub, with millions of cigars made annually.
But competition from mechanized cigarettes and changing tastes spurred a decline by the 1930s.
