Smokers have been chased out of bars, offices and restaurants and soon they will be banned from parks in Franklin Township.

Supervisors are hoping to enact an ordinance to prohibit smoking in parks in the township at the Oct. 19 meeting. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.mThe ban would affect parks that are owned, leased and operated or maintained by the township, including the Phifer Ice Dam Park and Christman Field.The penalty for violation of the ordinance will $25 the first time and for a second offense, the fine will be $50. The third and subsequent offenses within a year will be $100.The ordinance wouldbecome effective on Oct. 24, 2010.The idea to ban smoking in the township parks was brought to the township supervisors attention by Tobacco Free Northeast Pa and by Carbon-Monroe-Drug and Alcohol Commission which asked supervisors to join in eliminating children's exposure to secondhand smoke at local public parks and playground by participating in "Young Lungs at Play."They point to studies which show that if you are within three feet of someone smoking outdoors, your exposure to secondhand smoke can be the same as when you are indoors. Those are the particles that get in your lungs, are much higher from secondhand smoke than they are from car exhaust.The tobacco free parks and playgrounds initiative has proved successful in other parts of Pennsylvania and the country.The "Young Lungs at Play" program is designed to protect the environment and the health of all citizens, present and future. Proponents of the initiative point out that not only will it protect children's' lungs but it will help with clean up costs since cigarette butts are the most littered items in the world. They also point out that leach chemicals into the environment and are poisonous to children, pets and wildlife.